Documents: Boxer Adrien Broner connected to money laundering, drugs

Kevin Grasha | Cincinnati Enquirer

Professional boxer and Cincinnati native Adrien Broner has been connected to drug and money laundering investigations, according to federal court documents filed this week.

That allegation is mentioned in a forfeiture case surrounding 29-year-old Giovanni Crawford, who according to the documents was suspected of drug trafficking in 2016.

Crawford and Broner were known "as being associated with...narcotics and money laundering investigations," the documents say.

Specifics are not included in the documents, and Broner's attorney said he was not aware of Broner being investigated for those crimes.

After a traffic stop in December 2016 on Hamilton Avenue, police found more than $14,000 in cash in the rental vehicle Crawford was driving, according to the documents. His 7-year-old son was in the back seat. Another $1,000 was later found in Crawford's possession.

Federal prosecutors are seeking to have the money forfeited to the government.

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When police questioned him, Crawford, who wasn't carrying a driver's license, gave an incorrect social security number. His name also wasn't on the vehicle's rental agreement (the only name listed was "Monay Little").

According to the documents, Crawford told police "that his brother was Adrien Broner and that (Broner) always gave Crawford money to hold for him."

Crawford's son then stated, from the back seat: "AB did not give my dad the money; another man did."

In September of this year, Crawford submitted a claim for the money, according to the documents, saying it was "payment from Adrien Broner Enterprises for services as Adrien Broner's manager."

Broner's longtime attorney, Will Welsh, told The Enquirer he has never heard of Crawford. He said another man has been Broner's manager for many years.

"Adrien has nothing to do with whatever this guy is up to," Welsh said. "And we certainly deny any and all allegations contained in the document."

Broner, he said, has been living in Florida for the last few years.

"It seems like this guy is trying to tie himself to Adrien," he said, referring to Crawford.

The documents indicate that authorities investigated Crawford for drug trafficking, although there are no records showing he was ever charged.

Broner was involved in two notable incidents in 2016 and 2017. In January 2016, a man accused of Broner of beating him and robbing him of $14,000 during a gambling dispute outside a Madisonville bowling alley.

That case was dropped. Then in April 2017, police in Kenton County said Broner crossed into Kentucky in a bullet-riddled Chevrolet Suburban.

Broner told police someone shot at his vehicle after following him from a Westwood bar. He was not injured.

In 2013, Broner was the undefeated welterweight world champion. He has lost two of his last three bouts. His record now stands at 33-4-1.