On June 22, it was reported that NFL Quarterback Mark Sanchez and former Houston Astro Roy Oswalt were among several professional athletes who were defrauded out of over $30 million by their financial advisor, Ash Narayan. The athletes said they had trusted Narayan because he was approved by the NFL Players Association, represented many athletes, and was involved in charitable causes. Sadly, there was a red flag that could have easily alerted them to Narayan’s character – despite claiming to be a CPA, Narayan never received this certification in any state. This is an easily verifiable fact – most states have an online lookup tool for verification, and you can also see if their license has been suspended or any actions taken against them. One website that is a good resource is CPA Verify – they have a centralized CPA database that includes most of the United States; for Texas specifically, you can go to the Texas State Board of Accountancy: TSBPA look up tool.
A simple online search could have exposed the advisor as a fraud and potentially saved millions – don’t be a victim!