Mastermind of alleged scheme targeting NFL players found dead

Authorities in New Jersey are investigating the death of Mohamed Coulibaly, the founder of an e-commerce scheme that recruited professional athletes to invest in seemingly bogus websites.

Coulibaly, 24, was found dead Friday evening in the swimming pool of a Mullica Hill home by police responding to calls from a family member concerned about his well being, said Lieutenant Kurt Pflugfelder of the Harrison Township Police Department in South Jersey.

Pflugfelder referred further questions to a spokesperson for the Gloucester County prosecutor’s office, who had no immediate comment.

Three former NFL players interviewed for an article published last month by Barron’s collectively say they lost more than $1 million across separate investments with Coulibaly. Nearly two dozen additional current and former pro athletes and other public figures are named as clients on a pitch deck viewed by Barron’s that Coulibaly had circulated to potential investors.

Coulibaly told investors that they were buying ownership of Shopify-powered web stores, which purportedly sold items such as motorized water guns, hand-held electric fans, and smartphone cases. He then provided the shop owners with login credentials to track activity on the stores’ internal dashboards.

Those sales data were apparently falsified, Barron’s reporting suggested, by using a manual entry feature built into Shopify’s software. Website owners thereby got the impression of a thriving store, while they waited for the proceeds from their investment.

Coulibaly told Barron’s in May that its analysis was based on a misunderstanding of the technology and that his investors hadn’t received returns from their deals because he himself hadn’t received expected funds from a planned acquisition of his venture.

Multiple players targeted in the scheme told Barron’s that their confidence in Coulibaly was buttressed by the involvement of Steve Keim, who served as general manager of the Cardinals for about a decade until 2022. Keim was subsequently appointed as an executive with high-profile athletic agency Klutch Sports, a unit of United Talent Agency. A Klutch spokesman told Barron’s Keim is no longer employed by the company.

The athletes said they participated in conference calls that included Keim. In May, Coulibaly told Barron’s that Keim was chief operating officer of his e-commerce business, Motion Ventures.

Keim didn’t respond to a request for comment from Barron’s on Monday. When previously contacted by Barron’s in May, Keim said he couldn’t comment on the business without Coulibaly’s permission and provided no further remarks.

Coulibaly immigrated to the U.S. as a child with his Malian family and settled in Philadelphia, he told Barron’s in May. His e-commerce venture was one of several businesses he operated, he said.

He told Barron’s that he divided his time between homes in Philadelphia and Mullica Hill, a largely rural, affluent South Jersey community, where he said athletes in his social circle also lived.

A GoFundMe page posted by a person identified as Badra Coulibaly, Mohamed’s brother, seeks to fund “international transportation arrangements” for the return of Mohamed’s remains. Badra Coulibaly didn’t respond to a LinkedIn message from Barron’s on Monday.

“Our family is heartbroken by the sudden passing of my beloved brother, Mohamed,” he wrote on the GoFundMe post, which had raised nearly $12,000 by Monday afternoon. “Thank you for your love, prayers, and support during this incredibly painful time. It means more to us than words can express.”