CHARLOTTE, NC– Charlotte-based entrepreneur Michael Maloney, also known as Michael Schuller, claims to have received $10 million in capital from a Charlotte-based investment fund to support and promote the growth of start-up professional sports league, the Alpha Lacrosse League (“ALL” or the “League”). Despite having no documents or persons other than himself to support such claims, Schuller named several early sponsors and investors, who have denied any personal and financial involvement with him and the ALL. His current handling of the League’s startup coupled with his prior business dealings, unresolved criminal charges, and public use of an alias continue to cast a long shadow of doubt over the validity of the new league as he continues to collect player registration fees across the US.
Since outlining its inaugural season schedule and draft date, the ALL has unveiled several sponsors, investors and League partners, most notably identifying Poseidon Asset Management as an early backer of the League, reportedly investing $2.3 million dollars, per the ALL Instagram. Schuller then doubled down on the League’s claims during his appearance on Mitchell Pelkhe’s YouTube, claiming the ALL was “fully backed” by Poseidon. On October 22, Poseidon posted to their LinkedIn profile, stating they had “no affiliation with the organization and have not authorized any representations suggesting otherwise.”
In response, the ALL released a statement on its Instagram story addressing Poseidon’s statements, claiming that “the investors who led the $10 million in capital for the ALL have established their own asset management company.” Schuller further declared that “the committed capital remains fully intact,” and that “the only change that has occurred is the legal entity through which this investment is now held.” Following these statements, Schuller’s LinkedIn experience entry for the League was updated to reflect the $10 million in capital, further alleging that the investment came from a Charlotte, NC-based investment team “to accelerate league operations, player development, and the 2027 launch,” even though there is no tangible evidence to support his claims.
Schuller and the ALL have also identified VRBO, Navan and Monumental Sports as the inaugural season’s travel and media partners. None of the three organizations have confirmed, denied or commented on their supposed involvement.
The ALL identified several high-profile lacrosse brands as League sponsors and partners. Among them, Uncle Nicky’s Sex Tape, Tama Lacrosse and Cascade-Maverick. The League also initially announced STX as the official helmet sponsor, showcasing multiple AI-generated photos of the STX Aero with ALL franchise logo branded to the side of the helmets. While STX never publicly confirmed nor denied a connection to the League, the ALL has since deleted any mention of the Aero or STX’s involvement from its social media pages except for one photo posted to the League Facebook in July, and instead, pivoted to Cascade as the official helmet.
Despite the ALL naming Tama Lacrosse as its official apparel partner – an announcement still posted to the League’s social media grid, Tama Lacrosse has denied the existence of a sponsorship or partnership deal between Tama or Cascade-Maverick, clarifying that their relationship with the ALL does not extend further than “equipment and uniform supplier.”
“We’re treating the League just like any one of our normal customers,” said Tama Lacrosse’s National Team Sales Director Mike Schanz.
Schanz initially connected with Schuller via Instagram and telephone, before scheduling an in-person meeting to further discuss Tama’s role in securing equipment from major brands, i.e., Cascade-Maverick, as well outfitting each combine with reversible pinnies, shooter shirts and shorts. Schanz says that Tama is not a dedicated apparel partner or sponsor and only operates within a sales order-based, client-customer relationship with the ALL.
Since first connecting with Schuller regarding apparel for the League, Tama has tried and failed to complete the ALL’s early apparel orders due to Schuller/the ALL cancelling or rescheduling combine dates, or failing to pay for orders ahead of deadlines. Though the ALL did make and complete an apparel order in time for the Baltimore combine, when Tama requested payment for early helmet and jersey orders, Schuller sent two empty wire payments to Tama.
Schanz confirmed that after Schuller finalized team colors and logos, Tama invoiced the League for the order. Schuller notified Schanz he was sending a wire payment for the order, but no wire payment ever came through despite generally needing 72 hours to process. When confronted, Schuller informed Schanz/Tama that “the board of directors saw the invoice amount and wanted to shift gears and reevaluate the product that they were putting out.”
“[Schuller] advised me they were trying to sprinkle the money throughout the League appropriately in their first year,” said Schanz. “We advised them that the helmet costs can go down if they change the color specs of the helmets, so that’s where we’re at now, but nothing has been ordered for the League other than for the [Baltimore combine].”
Since then, Tama has gone to great lengths to maintain contact with Schuller to notify the League of “in-hand deadlines” for apparel orders ahead of the remaining combines. The next two stops on the tour include San Francisco, CA on November 7 and Denver, CO on November 21. However, according to Schanz’ recent conversations with Schuller, the ALL board of directors is potentially “moving away from the combine model” despite only having hosted one combine and having already collected $30 from registered players.
The League’s combine schedule has also been riddled with scheduling discrepancies. The first stop on the combine tour was meant to be Charlotte, NC on September 19, 2026 at the University of North Carolina Charlotte on Field 1, but the tryout has since been postponed to November 28. Ahead of the combine, the ALL released a statement revealing that initial attendance numbers for the Charlotte date were reportedly low, and that “seventy-five athletes registered after August 18.” In order to accommodate the delayed interest, the ALL planned to continue with the originally set date and add a second combine slated for November 30. Schuller then notified players the following day that the September 19 combine would be cancelled due to inclement weather conditions, and the second date on November 30 was moved up to November 28 in UNCC’s Jerry Richardson Stadium.
While an official reason for the change was never given, the UNCC Athletics Department has confirmed that not only were they never contacted by an ALL representative to reserve field space for September 19 or any other date, but Field 1 is not a field available for rent by outside organizations. Similarly, the Athletics Department confirmed the UNCC stadium rental advertised as the site for the November 28 Charlotte combine is also non-existent as the ALL once again never contacted the university. UNCC also hosted a home football game during the original combine date, and has a home football game against the US Naval Academy scheduled for November 28.
Ahead of the October 10 combine in Baltimore, MD, prospective players were originally told to report to Johns Hopkins University, before being relocated to Stevenson University days before the event. According to JHU Athletics Staff, not only had the University not received any correspondence from the League regarding the use of their facility on October 10, the field was also unavailable on October 10 as it was being used by its own lacrosse teams. According to Stevenson Athletics, the ALL reached out to rent Mustang Stadium for their Maryland combine less than a week ahead of the actual date.
Similarly still, with the Albany combine date approaching the following Saturday, October 17, players were notified the first of the Upstate stops would be held on Bob Ford Field at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium at the University of Albany. The Athletics Department once again confirmed that the League did not rent the field for the scheduled combine date, nor had there been any correspondence between them and any ALL representative. The League has since notified all players previously signed up for the Albany combine that they’ll be combining evaluation groups for the Syracuse date due to “too many scheduling conflicts with coaches that would have limited the quality of evaluation available in Albany.” The combined Albany-Syracuse tryout is slated for February 13, 2027 at the John A. Lally Athletics Complex at Syracuse University. As of October 27, 2026, the Syracuse University’s Athletics Department has confirmed that there was no reservation made for that date nor was there any contact from a League representative.
With the ALL seemingly moving away from the combine model altogether, Schuller reportedly allowed the franchise coaches to build their rosters and operate teams largely independently. The Baltimore Bobcats and Dallas Roadrunners were among the first two teams to begin signing players, but according to the now ex-head coach of the San Diego Devil Dogs, Bo Francy, the signing process quickly separated itself as the first major red flag.
The ALL offered Francy, owner and head coach of the San Diego Lacrosse Academy, a contract and gave the team its name, the San Diego Devil Dogs. However, as the League’s momentum grew, and more players began signing with each of the clubs, Francy began to question Schuller’s process, noting that “none of the other coaches knew about the signings.”
“We didn’t even know how to sign players, what the policy was or what the salaries were that we were supposed to be offering,” said Francy. “I sent multiple text messages to [Schuller], asking how are [coaches] signing [players] when we’re not supposed to sign anybody until after the combines?”
According to Francy, Schuller told the coaches that “the board needed players to be signed so that sponsors could see rosters,” and that he and the ALL front office planned to host a meeting including each franchise’s head coach and/or staff, the board members and Schuller himself to clarify the process. However, as Francy confirmed, the meeting did not happen and there was no contact between the ALL front office and the coaches as a group.
“There was never a coaches meeting, never a meeting with [Schuller] or the board, there was nothing, there’s no direction,” said Francy. “Even the contract that I signed, he never sent it back notarized.”
“When we started signing players, I was already in conversation with a handful of guys, and they were putting me in touch with more players, and [Schuller] was sending me even more players,” Francy recounted. “Then random players were just messaging me through Instagram and my email address, so in a 72-hour period, I had 80 to 85 players reach out to me.”
According to Francy, while building a roster alongside his full-time work commitments, he attempted to negotiate with Schuller to be compensated for the work completed prior to the season. He asked for a $10,000 preseason bonus or to activate the terms of his contract earlier than the March 1, 2027 payment start date, to which Schuller responded that he would speak with the board. Schuller followed up days later, notifying Francy that the board wanted to have a conversation with him, stating that they felt “he was only in it for the money,” and accusing him of screenshotting his conversations with Schuller to send to players.
Though Francy admitted to sharing their conversations with players, he clarified on the record and in the video he posted to the San Diego Lacrosse Academy on October 26 that the screenshots he sent were neither damning nor inflammatory, but included exclusively information for which recruited players requested clarification, i.e., injury compensation and player insurance.
“Then he said I ‘wasn’t signing top talent,’” Francy said. “I told him, ‘I’m one person, I work a full-time job, what do you want me to do?’ In 72 hours, I had 80-plus people reach out to me, how do you want me to do that?”
Francy was also instrumental in several of the League’s recent partnerships, including their most recent footwear partnership with Caddix. According to Francy, after connecting the two, Schuller informed him that the board was “unhappy” with him for “sharing information about the League” with Caddix, placing him in breach of contract. Francy, however, denied sharing any information regarding financials, sponsors or the needs of the League.
Schuller then notified Francy that he’d be required to meet with members of the board, as well representatives from Poseidon Asset Management, who at the time were still being publicly named by the League as its main financial backer. After several days without contact from Schuller or the ALL, Francy reached out to Poseidon regarding the still unscheduled meeting between himself, the board and the asset management fund. Poseidon informed him they had no business dealings with the League, nor any knowledge of a scheduled meeting. “Wednesday morning, I woke up, and my son told me they took my photo off of the San Diego Devil Dogs Instagram page.”
According to Francy, nearly 100 players were confirmed registered for the upcoming San Diego combine date on December 5, 2026. He also noted that in addition to being quietly removed from the coaching staff without notice, he has since been blocked by both the League (@alphalacrosseleague) and Schuller’s personal page (@all.prez), and is no longer able to view any social media postings from either.
Before sending out the first round of player contracts, the ALL Instagram posted a carousel to their page on September 3, 2026, detailing the goals and early benefits of the League’s inaugural season. Among those benefits offered, the ALL guaranteed a competitive base salary of $10,000 as the League minimum, alongside revenue share opportunities and performance bonuses. Since the first signings, player salaries have doubled, with most player contracts reportedly offering a minimum of $22,000 (paid monthly starting March 1, 2027), with some players reportedly being offered contracts of up to $60,000.
Player contracts also included clauses outlining League ownership offers. Article 7 of those ALL player contracts introduced an Equity Grant Clause:
“7.1 Initial Equity Grant. Effective as of the Effective Date, Club hereby grants to Player, and Player hereby accepts, a five percent (5.0%) equity interest (the “Initial Grant”) in the Franchise Entity that owns and operates the Charleston Shells (the “Franchise Entity”). “Equity interest” means a fully paid, non-assessable ownership interest representing five percent (5.0%) of the fully diluted equity of the Franchise Entity as of the Effective Date, whether styled as membership units, shares of common stock, or the economic and voting equivalent thereof.”
A “fully paid, non-assessable ownership interest” is an equity interest where shareholders are not required to pay anything else beyond the price they pay for the equity share. This means the ALL can’t ask players to contribute additional money after the initial share purchase. Stocks traded on the US Stock Exchange operate the same way, limiting an investor’s financial risk after the original investment. However, the contract gives no indication as to the cost of the “fully paid, non-assessable ownership interest.”
Schuller has also claimed a decade-long background in the cannabis industry before his move into the lacrosse world. In his public media appearances as well as on his LinkedIn page, he identifies himself as the founder of CRS Cannabis, or Ceres Cannabis, a non-existent, Missouri-based cannabis organization backed by “institutional capital from [Poseidon Asset Management LLC].” The alleged growth capital was used to “scale operations, tighten systems, and run CRS as a disciplined operator instead of a scrappy early-stage shop.” Using “Maloney” (believed to be his mother’s maiden name) rather than Schuller, Maloney’s LinkedIn claims he founded and operated CRS Cannabis between September 2016 and January 2022, before the company was purchased by MedMen.
Poseidon Asset Management has once again denied any connection to a Michael Maloney or a Michael Schuller during CRS’ supposed period of activity, or any other business dealings . Additionally, during the time of the supposed acquisition, MedMen was in the middle of its own buyout talks, as well as in the throes of a class-action lawsuit, before the company inevitably filed for bankruptcy.
Notably, Schuller has four additional LinkedIn profiles, naming him as an owner or high-ranking official of a “Ceres Extracts,” a “Ceres Garden” and a “Ceres Organics.” According to one of Schuller’s LinkedIn profiles, Ceres Organics was awarded 1st Place in Extracts at the 2019 and 2020 SLO Cannabis Cup, as well as awarded 1st Place Distillates at the 2020 High Times NorCal Cannabis Cup before its sale in October 2020 to a Washington-based company. While a Ceres Garden does exist, the real cannabis vendor was founded in 2013– while Schuller was a high school sophomore and well before the alleged operations timeline– and has no record of any connection to a Michael Schuller. On another profile, Schuller states that Ceres Extracts was one of “the select few companies here in California that received both licenses to distribute Medical & Recreational cannabis,” while another of his profiles states that Ceres Extracts and Ceres Organics were both sold in 2019 despite there being no record of either of these companies existence or his involvement.
Schuller also claims to be the owner of Elite Power Pressure Washing and Prestigious Painting since January 2023, though while the businesses do exist, they are not registered under his name, nor are they owned or operated by him in any official capacity. A nationwide search shows that Schuller’s only registered business venture is Kucherenko Properties, LLC, a Missouri limited liability company whose stated business purpose is to provide affordable housing for people looking for rental properties to lease.
While less is known about the full extent of his activity prior to Ceres, screenshots were obtained depicting Maloney’s involvement in low-level PayPal scams dating back to 2014. He was captured multiple times within lacrosse equipment resale Facebook group, “Zach barabasz local lax blast sale,” soliciting and scamming members through PayPal before harassing them via direct text message.
Schuller also has a lengthy history with law enforcement in at least four of the states he’s lived in according to publicly available court records. Most recently, Schuller was arrested on September 1, 2025 in Matthews, North Carolina for DWI, hit-and-run and simple possession. Court records show Schuller crashed his 2018 Ford F150 and fled the scene on foot. Police found “a cup that is commonly used for alcoholic beverages” and two TCH vapes at the scene, as well as Schuller’s wallet containing his suspended Missouri license. A short time later officers found Schuller “sleeping” on a sidewalk before he admitted to driving drunk, crashing his truck, and fleeing the scene of the accident. Schuller was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond, and failed to appear in court on September 29, 2025. Because he failed to appear, the Mecklenburg County, NC District Attorney’s Office dismissed the three charges with leave. In North Carolina, a Dismissal with Leave administratively closes a charge until such time as a defendant can be brought back to court to face criminal charges.
Just three months earlier in May 2025, NC State Highway Patrol pulled Schuller over for speeding in Gaston County, NC. Schuller failed to appear in court for that ticket as well, which also resulted in the charge being dismissed with leave. Court records do not show that an Order for Arrest (OFA) was issued in either NC case; however, in North Carolina, a failure to appear in court generally results in the court issuing an OFA.
The North Carolina criminal charges are the latest in what seems to be a pattern of Schuller failing to take responsibility for his actions. Schuller currently has at least two pending Orders for Arrest in his home state of Missouri – one from a 2022 Driving Without Insurance charge and the other for a 2025 Driving While License Revoked or Suspended charge.
In 2018, Schuller was charged with DUI, underage drinking and hit-and-run in Santa Cruz County, California, for which he pleaded guilty. He also has an active lien (civil judgment) against him in Maricopa County, AZ for $1,905 in unpaid rent. The Court shows that the judgment has never been satisfied.
As of Monday, October 26, a portion of the details surrounding his Mecklenburg County arrest have begun circulating online, including but not limited to his mug shot and the hit-and-run charge. Shortly thereafter, Schuller issued an official League memo addressing the North Carolina charges, in which he claimed the charges were “a mistake that he has taken full responsibility for, learned from, and grown beyond.” However, Schuller’s pending failures to appear and orders for arrest suggest otherwise. Though Schuller has yet to address any of his other outstanding criminal or civil charges, he continues to defend the viability of the League on social media.
Leave a Reply