Bryan Herta owed $1.5 million by Integrity Energee? (Update)
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| Jack Hawksworth leads the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis in the #98 Integrity Energee Drink Honda |
This website explains how Integrity Assets Group might be running a Ponzi scheme and how Herta was probably duped.
12/24/14 (Editor's note: According to this TMZ article, IndyCar team owner Bryan Herta has sued Integrity Energee Drink for over $1.5 million in unpaid sponsorship fees in 2014. Integrity logos were on the #98 Honda piloted by Jack Hawksworth for a series of races starting at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. However, the logos came off the car during the Iowa weekend, and did not return. And the article below may explain why.)
An IndyCar team owner — whose driver won the Indy500 in 2011 — claims he's being hosed by his biggest sponsor … who bailed on a $2 million deal AFTER he covered his car in their logo.
The man behind the suit is Bryan Herta — a former racer who owns the Bryan Herta Autosport racing team which competes in the Verizon IndyCar series.
Herta claims he struck a $2 million deal with the people behind Integrity Energy Drink back in April — and immediately plastered the company logo all over the team's car … complete with a fluorescent green paint job to match the Integrity colors.
But according to a lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court and obtained by TMZ Sports, Integrity failed to live up to its name … and only forked over $470k in payments.
Herta claims he went after company honchos for the money — and got an email from the CEO apologizing for the payment problems … but NEVER got the remaining $1.53 mil.
In the suit, Herta claims the lack of funding put his squad at a "severe competitive disadvantage" — forcing the team to scale back important race prep to save money.
Herta is demanding the remaining $1.53 mil — plus damages.
A lawyer for Integrity tells TMZ Sports … "Any allegations made against my client should be viewed with high scrutiny. There is more to this situation than just a simple allegation. There exists evidence to counter any claim made by the claimant."