On paper, it looked like a good day for an online store. A $5,000 order had come in from Luxembourg: 100 desktop humidifiers and 120 USB cup warmers. When the order was traced to the address listed for delivery, there was just one problem.
The man who lived there said he had never bought any of it. The sale existed on paper. The customer did not. That was one of the details that raised questions about a much larger e-commerce operation built around Shopify stores. Investors had been able to watch sales roll in through their dashboards, but a Barron's investigation found evidence that the transactions weren't real. And among those investors was former New York Giants linebacker Tae Crowder, who had put his entire savings into one of the businesses and lost it all.
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"Like many people, I believed I was making smart decisions with the money I earned so I could build a secure future for myself and continue supporting the people I love," Crowder wrote in the caption of a cascade of Instagram posts
. "Unfortunately, I became the victim of a financial scam that cost me $500,000 of my savings."
Crowder's loss was tied to Vent Motion LLC, also known as Motion Venture, a company founded by Philadelphia entrepreneur Mohamed Coulibaly, who has now passed away
.
Tae Crowder's story is a reminder that even NFL players face real financial challenges off the field. Subscribe for more interesting stories.
The pitch was that investors could buy Shopify stores without having to handle inventory or day-to-day operations. Coulibaly's company would manage the stores, advertising and products while investors watched the sales through Shopify.
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The numbers could look extraordinary. The Inquirer reported that one store, which allegedly began with a $550,000 investment in January 2024, was claimed to have generated $2 million in revenue in April and $23 million in July, reaching $84 million by August. Those figures came from an unsubstantiated company pitch deck and were not independently verified.
That apparent success was part of what made the operation convincing. Crowder told ESPN that he had seen the names of NFL players and other people he considered legitimate around the investment.
"I just seen a lot of different names on there that were legit," Crowder told ESPN. "People, NFL players, different players. And I was like, all right, it's got to be legit, you know. I wish I put my money somewhere else … instead of looking for a quicker investment."
But when Barron's examined the stores, some of the numbers appeared difficult to reconcile with actual customer activity. One store recorded more than 360 orders while receiving only about 90 visitors, with transactions that investigators found had apparently been entered manually through Shopify. The Luxembourg order was among the transactions that raised questions. Furthermore, Crowder was not the only former NFL player who says he lost money.
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Former running back Matt Breida said he invested $250,000, while former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim said he lost more than $1 million after buying into multiple stores. Keim was also given a senior executive title at Motion Venture, which he later said helped legitimize the business in the eyes of potential investors.
The alleged victims extended beyond football. The Inquirer
spoke with at least 10 people who said they collectively lost more than $5 million through Coulibaly's investments, including everyday investors from Arizona, Pennsylvania and New York.
As investors began demanding their money, Coulibaly allegedly offered another explanation. He told them a Dubai-based firm, Middle East Venture Partners, was interested in buying Motion Venture for $215 million, provided the company reached 175 online stores and other targets. But a letter of intent presented as evidence of the deal was dated August 14, 2024, more than a month before Motion Venture was registered in Pennsylvania.
Fraud investigator Barry Minkow later submitted a 23-page whistleblower report to the SEC, FBI and Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities after examining the business for an investor. The report raised concerns about the operation and urged regulators to intervene. The Inquirer reported that Motion Venture was still recruiting investors in February 2026.
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The situation became even more complicated in the final days of Coulibaly's life. On July 31, the day he was found dead at his Gloucester County home, one alleged victim said Coulibaly asked him for another $75,000 loan. The man said Coulibaly already owed him $1 million and offered a Lamborghini, two gold Rolexes and a signed Lionel Messi cleat as collateral.
According to the investor, a driver instead arrived with two fake watches, an unauthenticated cleat, and documents relating to the promised car. The loan was cancelled. Coulibaly was found dead later that day.
The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office is investigating his death. No charges had been filed against him in connection with the alleged investment scheme before his death. His alleged victims now believe the operation may have functioned as a Ponzi scheme, with money from newer investors being used to satisfy earlier ones, though that remains an allegation rather than an established criminal finding.
Crowder is now part of litigation involving other investors seeking to recover their money. His attorney has said Coulibaly's death does not necessarily prevent claims against his estate, and Crowder had met with federal investigators before Coulibaly's death.
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"I don't want anybody else to get involved in anything like this, and whoever has got involved, I just want to come together and make it right," Crowder told ABC.
Crowder is now asking supporters for help rebuilding what he says was his entire savings. His GoFundMe campaign had raised $8,655 toward its $16,000 goal at the time of the original report.
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