CaaStle founder charged over alleged 300 million dollar fraud scheme
Hunsicker's alleged fraud scheme is said to have started back in 2019, when she began promoting the company as a rapidly growing rental business. Despite knowing CaaStle was in financial trouble, Hunsicker is believed to have told investors that the business was valued at 1.4 billion dollars in an attempt to raise capital for its operations.
In doing so, the entrepreneur was accused of falsifying income statements, financial statements, bank records and corporate documents that overstated CaaStle's profit, revenue and available cash. It is believed that Hunsicker had fraudulently induced over 275 million dollars in investments.
Following two instances of submitting fake audits to separate investors in 2023 and 2024, Hunsicker is said to have expanded her fraud scheme to a new business venture, P180, 'using false information about CaaStle's success to raise approximately 30 million dollars' for the firm.
Upon the launch of an investigation last year, Hunsicker stepped down as CaaStle's chair, however, she continued alleged fraudulent activities, selling eight million dollars of her shares in the company and more than five million dollars in P180 convertible notes without disclosing material information to investors. In February 2025, she then attempted to sell a further 19 million dollars in shares before law enforcement seized her electronic devices the following month.
According to the US Department of Justice, Hunsicker self-surrendered on July 18 and has been charged with a six-count indictment, meaning she could be facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed a separate civil lawsuit.
CaaStle filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in June, with a petition submitted to the District of Delaware revealing plans to liquidate the business. The company, which has worked with brands like LK Bennett and Derek Lam on branded rental offerings, had assets in the range of 10 to 50 million dollars, and a number of creditors spanning 200 to 999, according to documents.
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During an appearance on "The Pivot" podcast last summer, Brown said he meets with a therapist to talk about trauma from his football career. When co-host Fred Taylor said there are people who are concerned about him, Brown interjected. "I just feel like people don't understand," he said. "It's always when people don't understand, you're crazy. Or you're not from where I'm from, so you don't get to understand it." Brown has talked openly and repeatedly about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the neurodegenerative brain disease more commonly known as CTE. He has also posted videos and conducted interviews for a self-described sports outlet that he's dubbed "CTESPN" -- a crude combination of the popular sports network and the disease that has been found in the brains of deceased NFL players. It was on CTESPN's social media accounts that he announced in May 2024 he had filed for bankruptcy - alongside a video clip featuring a comedic moment from "The Office." In initial court filings, Brown claimed to have less than $50,000 in assets. But that figure has changed drastically in subsequent filings, as he included or revealed additional assets technically owned by trusts or corporate entities he controls. Creditors and the trustee assigned to the case have criticized Brown for the financial mixups and his conduct in court - including a March hearing that he asked to postpone because he said he was dealing with an unspecified medical issue. "The Debtor, however, was not in poor health," the U.S. trustee later wrote in a court filing. "In fact, the Debtor participated as an invited guest on The Joe Rogan Experience (a podcast) for 98 minutes the very next day." Brown's first bankruptcy attorney has since resigned and his case has been converted to Chapter 7 - a form of bankruptcy in which the court can seize assets and garnish wages to repay creditors. (His current bankruptcy attorney, Chad Van Horn, declined comment.) According to court records obtained by USA TODAY Sports, the trustee in Brown's case is in the process of selling two of his homes, and also asking a judge to force him to provide accurate financial data to the court. The next hearing in the case is July 24. Andrew Dawson, a professor of bankruptcy law at the University of Miami, said the bankruptcy proceedings are actually protecting Brown by pausing any lawsuits filed against him and preventing new suits from being filed. But disobeying court orders could, in theory, prompt a judge to throw out the case. "If he loses the protection, in some ways, he might be worse off," Dawson said. "Now, creditors are actually aware that, wow, he owes a lot of money to a lot of people, and there may be some property we didn't know. It leads to what we sort of call the proverbial race to the courthouse. Everyone wants to go and file their claim." Brown apparently in United Arab Emirates One will find little evidence of Brown's financial issues on his social media feeds, where he portrays himself as living the same luxurious lifestyle he led when he was in the NFL. Since arriving in the Middle East nearly six weeks ago, he has posted images of sprawling marble floors and flashy sports cars. He celebrated his 37th birthday on a yacht with several of his children. On June 26, he posted a screenshot on X of an account balance exceeding $24 million. "Bankrupt over," he wrote in part of the caption. Tamara Lave, a former public defender and law professor at the University of Miami, said the frequent social media posts could complicate Brown's bankruptcy claims because they could be later used against him in court. "I think silence would be a virtue for him, right now," she said. Brown also is still wanted by the state of Florida after he allegedly fired two gunshots at Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, during the May 16 incident in Miami. According to the arrest warrant, the shots came after a physical altercation between Brown and Nantambu, who previously sued the former NFL wide receiver, won a judgment of nearly $1 million from a jury and is now among the creditors named in Brown's bankruptcy case. Miami police have repeatedly declined to answer questions about the warrant or Brown's case, citing "an open active investigation." And it is unclear whether they, or the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, are aware of Brown's whereabouts or have been in contact with him or his attorney. At least as of July 23, Brown appeared to be living in the United Arab Emirates, according to social media posts. Lave said that would mean he could only be taken into custody in one of two ways: If he returned to the United States, where he would likely be detained by Customs and Border Protection, or if the U.S. asked the UAE to extradite him. "I think it's more a geopolitical question - what the UAE would want to do in terms of the relationship with our president," Lave said. Brown campaigned for President Donald Trump and spoke at one of his rallies last fall. Online, at least, Brown remains relatively easy to find. He has 2.5 million followers on X, where many of his posts include racist, homophobic or otherwise vulgar language. He has also hosted multiple livestreams in what appears to be an attempt to drum up interest for a Belize-based gambling company, During one such stream, which is no longer archived online, Brown balked at the suggestion from a commenter that he was "hiding out" in the Middle East. "I'm here full-time," he said. "We're not hiding." Contact Tom Schad at tschad@ or on social media @
