The FBI’s Washington Field Office has been in touch with George Mason University’s athletic department about a “foreign tour” for the men’s basketball team to the Bahamas that was canceled shortly before the departure date when the school says it discovered its airline and hotel accommodations had not been secured.
The botched travel plans became the subject of national news last month, with social media commentators drawing parallels to Fyre Festival, the infamous luxury music event that failed to pan out as promised and ultimately landed its organizer in prison.
George Mason had contracted with The VII Group, a Georgia-based sports promoter and event operator that previously arranged foreign college basketball team trips for other schools. GMU paid The VII Group about $160,000 for a five-day, four-night trip to Nassau, from Aug. 8-12, which was supposed to feature two exhibition games against local club or pro teams and island excursions such as a catamaran ride.
In addition to the team’s 30-person travel party, The VII Group had also organized a package through a third-party travel agency for GMU fans and donors to come along and “cheer on the Patriots in paradise.”
But instead of cheering in paradise, there would be fulminating in Fairfax, Va.
On Aug. 12, the school put out an announcement saying that it was “extremely disappointed” to have to cancel the trip. In an accompanying statement, The VII Group said it took “full accountability” for what it described as an “unforeseen outcome.” Christopher Williams, the consultancy’s owner, did not respond to an email and text message seeking comment.
The extent of the FBI’s current involvement in the matter is not known. As per bureau policy, a spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation and a GMU athletic department spokesperson would only refer to the school’s previous announcement. The FBI’s contact with GMU was revealed in correspondence obtained by Sportico through a public records request.
On Aug. 16, Christian Roccia, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Northern Virginia Resident Agency, emailed Zack Bolno, GMU’s deputy athletic director/external affairs.
“Were you able to assist with scheduling a meeting with someone from your office regarding the topic we discussed?” Roccia wrote in the email.
Bolno, in turn, passed that message along to GMU athletic director Marvin Lewis, who then forwarded it to Eli Schlam, one of the school’s in-house lawyers.
“We received a call and email from an FBI agent inquiring about the Bahamas trip,” Lewis wrote to Schlam. “Will you advise on the appropriate next steps? … I can follow up but wanted to check-in prior to responding to the agent.”
At Schlam’s instruction, Lewis then reached out to Carl Rowan, Jr., the chief of GMU’s campus police, for further guidance. Records turned over to Sportico do not show any further communications about the situation.
GMU and The George Mason University Foundation signed the agreement with The VII Group on April 3. According to a copy of the contract obtained by Sportico, the foundation was responsible for making an initial payment to The VII Group equaling 35% of the tour cost, ($55,914.60) with the remaining balance due by late May. The contract stipulated that in the event The VII Group canceled the tour, it would refund payments made aside from the Foundation’s “original deposit,” which was deemed non-refundable.
Records show GMU athletic officials held a Zoom call with The VII Group on July 24 and, by the start of last month, were still preparing as if the trip was a go.
However, late in the morning of Aug. 7, Lewis emailed Williams accusing The VII Group of being in breach of the trip contract and demanding full compensation of three payments it had been required to make by noon that day. A few hours later—and less than 24 hours before the team’s scheduled departure date to the Bahamas—Lewis followed up with an additional message to Williams demanding the “full return of all payments” and “damages for the costs incurred due to the inability to fulfill the agreement.”
Subsequent emails indicate that Lewis and Williams spoke the following morning, in which Williams acknowledged his company’s inability to fulfill the contract. He later collaborated with Bolno on the joint statement.
On Aug. 16, Williams emailed Lewis with an update about the refund, saying that the third-party agency The VII Group had contracted should have “everything finalized and paid back” by Aug. 23.
As of late last week, it appeared things were still not yet resolved.
In a letter addressed to “Mason Nation” and posted on GMU’s athletics website, Lewis said the school “continues to work with The VII Group to resolve this matter and secure a full refund for those directly impacted. We appreciate everyone’s continued support and patience.”
In December, The VII Group will host its annual Holiday Hoopsgiving college basketball event in Atlanta, featuring matchups between Auburn and Ohio State; Florida and ASU; and Grand Canyon and Georgia.
