Denver Nuggets center Chris Andersen prepares for their game against the New Orleans Hornets on Jan. 9, 2012, at the Pepsi Center. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
Former Denver Nuggets center Chris “Birdman” Andersen claims that his longtime attorney and sports agent stole money from his bank account, handed Netflix the rights to his life story for free, and shuttered Crepes ‘n Crepes, his in-laws’ restaurant in Cherry Creek.
The allegations, contained in a lengthy and wide-ranging lawsuit Nov. 7, target Greenwood Village lawyer Mark Bryant, a one-time father figure to Andersen who claims to have coined the term “family CEO” to describe his legal and financial work on behalf of affluent clients.
“This is a case that should go under the heading ‘no good deed goes unpunished,’” Bryant’s lawyer, Jeff Springer of the firm Springer & Steinberg, said of the accusations.
“Mark Bryant rescued Chris Andersen when he was kicked out of the NBA for violation of the league’s drug policy,” Springer said of a 2006 incident. “Mr. Bryant took care of Mr. Andersen out of the goodness of his heart. He was never paid or took anything from Mr. Andersen.”
Andersen, 46, joined the NBA in 2001, after being signed by the Nuggets. Nicknamed Birdman for his leaps and wingspan, he played two seasons with the New Orleans Hornets from 2004-2006, was suspended for two years after testing positive for drugs, and returned to the Nuggets in 2008. He later bounced between three other teams before retiring in 2017.
A colorful figure and fan favorite with tattoos over a majority of his body, Andersen overcame hardships on and off the basketball court. In 2012, a Canadian woman named Shelly Chartier used phony social media accounts to coordinate a real-world relationship between Andersen and a 17-year-old girl, whom Andersen believed to be an adult. Andersen was investigated but not charged with a crime. Chartier served a year in prison for impersonation.
Through it all, Bryant represent Andersen. During his suspension from the NBA, he lived with Bryant’s family to help him stay sober, according to past media reports.
But since firing Bryant last year, Andersen has come to reevaluate his former agent’s work and now describes it in terms such as “theft,” “malpractice,” “betrayal” and “devastation.”
Much of that stems from Chartier’s crime, known as a catfishing scheme. Andersen said he told Bryant to advocate for Chartier’s extradition to the U.S., so she could face penalties here, but he failed to adequately do that. Andersen protested his government’s refusal to extradite by not paying taxes between 2015 and 2017 but then relented. Andersen said that Bryant later failed to send him his 2016 tax bill, leaving it unpaid and accruing fees.
Chris Andersen shooting free throws in 2012. Karl Gehring/The Denver Post.
After declining to discuss the catfishing scheme for years, Andersen decided to tell his story in the early 2020s and tasked his attorney with finding a way that allowed Andersen to maintain editorial control and get paid. Instead, unbeknownst to him, Bryant signed a deal with two production companies that achieved neither goal, Andersen said. Despite being interviewed for an unnamed Netflix project, Andersen claims that he has not been compensated.
Andersen fired Bryant on June 5, 2023, one day after learning that his agreement with the film companies reportedly required payments to Bryant but not to him. Soon after, he learned that an undetermined amount of money had been moved from his business bank account to Bryant’s bank account and that of Bryant’s paralegal, according to his lawsuit.
Then there is Crepes ‘n Crepes. The Cherry Creek mainstay had been in the neighborhood for nearly 20 years when, in 2021, Andersen began dating Alexandra Pozdnyak, the daughter of Crepes ‘n Crepes owners Alain and Ellina Veratti. Those two have since married.
Andersen says that Bryant attended gatherings with his in-laws, ingratiated himself and began to refer to himself as a member of the family. He also gave advice on the creperie.
In 2022, the Verattis decided to retire to Florida and Andersen agreed to buy the profitable restaurant for $650,000, he says. While he was taking $300,000 out of a 401(k) to do so, Bryant was advising him to not renew the restaurant’s lease at 2816 E. 3rd Ave., which was about to expire. So, Andersen didn’t.
One of the dishes offered by Crepes ‘n Crepes. (Courtesy Crepes n’ Crepes)
“All of a sudden, we’re talking to their lawyer and they’re out,” Scott McDougal, the owner of Crepes ‘n Crepes’ landlord, McDougal & Co., told BusinessDen in late 2022.
Andersen said he and his now-wife identified other spots in Cherry Creek where the business might relocate, but Bryant advised against them. They ultimately ended up moving to Congress Park.
“As a result of following Mr. Bryant’s advice to move locations, Crepes ‘n Crepes’ business plummeted,” last week’s lawsuit alleges. “It was not profitable during a single month” at 1222 Madison St. and “was delinquent in paying employees and taxes.”
In June, the state closed the creperie because it had failed to pay taxes. After negotiations, it reopened briefly this summer, but then closed permanently in September.
For that and more, Andersen blames Bryant, who he is suing for theft, fraudulent concealment, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice. He seeks an undetermined amount of money in the lawsuit, which was filed in Arapahoe County District Court.
Springer, the attorney for Bryant, predicts the Andersen case will embarrass its plaintiff.
“Mr. Bryant will not give in to this money grab,” the lawyer said in a statement, “but feels badly that the truth about Mr. Andersen will have to come out in a public proceeding.”
