A Canadian national pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to a $5 million Ponzi scheme in which he posed as a beverage entrepreneur and lied to investors that Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry would endorse one of his products.

Khemraj Dave Hardat, 50, a former resident of Los Angeles, also wooed financiers by fraudently claiming NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was a business partner in the venture, federal officials said.

On Monday, Hardat pleaded guilty to five wire fraud charges in a Los Angeles federal courtroom for pretending to be a successful beverage entrepreneur from 2014 to last November to dupe investors. He could face up to 100 years in prison.

Hardat would show victims doctored digital images of his inflated bank account statements to gain the trust of investors, according to federal prosecutors.

Instead of using investors’ money to fund his purported business proposals, Hardat pocketed the proceeds to pay off his personal debts, purchase luxury cars and luxury suite tickets for sporting events, pay rent at his Ritz-Carlton condo, and pay tuition for his children’s exclusive private schools.

As he tried to bilk one investor, Hardat falsely represented his business connections to Curry, O’Neil and other sports and business heavyweights.

“Hardat represented that NBA stars Stephen Curry and D’Angelo Russell would be endorsing Hardat’s products; that Shaquille O’Neal was a business partner of his; and that billionaire Michael Dell had also loaned Hardat $5 million, and had gotten a 100% return on that loan,” according to an FBI criminal affidavit.

Instead of investing the initial loan from that investor, Hardat used the money to help pay off debts on a $180,000 Lamborghini and $131,000 Maserati, according to court records.

Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni