Four customers allegedly paid former NBA player and artist Desmond Mason more than $53,000 for paintings, commissioned pieces, and jerseys that prosecutors say were never delivered.
The transactions stretched from March 2025 through April 2026 and involved three customers in Oklahoma County and one in Tulsa County. Investigators said Mason continued communicating with the buyers and promising delivery before contact stopped during the opening months of 2026.
Oklahoma County prosecutors have charged the 48-year-old former Oklahoma State basketball player with four felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and one count alleging a pattern of criminal offenses.
The charges are allegations. Mason has not been convicted in the Oklahoma County case.
Four Customers Allegedly Paid a Combined $53,362
The largest transaction involved a Tulsa customer who allegedly paid Mason $37,500 for paintings and jerseys on or around March 7, 2025, according to the charging document linked by FOX 25.
Another customer allegedly paid $7,812 for commissioned artwork in October 2025. A third customer allegedly paid $6,750 for a painting in December 2025. The filing also lists a $1,300 painting transaction involving a fourth customer.
Each transaction exceeded Oklahoma’s $1,000 felony threshold. Together, the amounts listed by prosecutors total $53,362. The criminal filing alleges that Mason accepted the payments but failed to deliver the purchased items after receiving the money.
Communication Stopped At One Point
An Oklahoma City Police Department financial-crimes detective wrote in the probable-cause affidavit that Mason remained in contact with the four customers and continued making promises about delivery.
Those communications stopped at different points in February, March, and April 2026. The customers then made numerous unsuccessful attempts to reach him, according to the affidavit.
The New Case Follows a Separate Texas Theft Allegation
Prosecutors said the transactions formed part of the same alleged plan despite occurring in two jurisdictions. Mason faces four counts of obtaining property by trick, deception, false representation, or false pretense. The fifth count alleges a pattern of criminal offenses based on the repeated sales and nondelivery claims.
Mason was arrested in Oklahoma City in May on a separate felony warrant from Texas involving sports memorabilia. In that case, a Texas couple alleged that they paid him $9,822.86 to frame memorabilia and supplied items and authentication documents valued at approximately $40,000.
They said the finished property was never returned. The Oklahoma County art case is separate from the Texas allegation.
Buyers Should Preserve the Full Transaction Record
Collectors and buyers should use written agreements for high-value art, jerseys, memorabilia, framing, restoration, authentication, and display work. The agreement should identify the item, price, deposit, payment schedule, delivery deadline, refund terms, shipping method, insurance coverage, and who owns any memorabilia or materials handed to the artist or dealer.
Buyers who believe they paid for art, collectibles, or commissioned work that was never delivered should preserve the records before deleting messages or blocking accounts. They can contact the payment provider, card issuer, marketplace, local law enforcement, and consumer-protection officials, specially when the same seller appears to have accepted money from multiple customers without delivering the promised work.
