Billionaire John Ruiz once called Miami the "most transparent" NIL space, but a twist of fate landed him in another controversy

Billionaire John Ruiz was prominent in giving the Univeristy of Miami NIL money, but as of late, that has changed.

Ruiz is the owner of LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing and was vocal about his support for the Hurricanes. He has spent money on acquiring players for the football team, and both men's and women's basketball roster.

After the billionaire signed former Kansas State guard, Nijel Pack, to a two-year $800,000 deal for Miami's basketball team, it was clear Ruiz was a key part of the future of Miami Hurricanes sporting programs.

He also called Miami's NIL deal the most transparent platform in the entire country and said on SportsCenter:

“What I do think is that we have the most transparent platform in the entire country, and that goes a long way. I think from a brand perspective and return on investment for our business which goes together with the name, image and likeness of the players, we’ve seen an incredible boom since the team has made the Final Four. To see all of our social platforms explode and the recognition across the country is huge”

John Ruiz also made it clear that he wasn't just handing out money, rather, he said the plan is to get them working for his company LifeWallet and help his company grow:

“These kids are constantly working for LifeWallet and there’s interaction and they understand that we’re supportive and they have to be supportive and that’s where a true relationship comes into play. This is not just a situation where people are getting into a contractual relationship and not doing anything. They’re actually having to work.”

John Ruiz reportedly under investigation

Although John Ruiz said Miami's NIL money was the most transparent in the country, the booster is reportedly under investigation.

According to reports, Ruiz's LifeWallet is the “target of federal civil and criminal investigations” led by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, as well as the FBI and IRS agents.

The report says that SEC investigators are looking into whether LifeWallet represented to investors about its value and other possible security violations. Several people have also been interviewed about the possible violations from Ruiz.

As of now, John Ruiz claims there is no investigation involving him, even though he recently cut off a lot of money going into Miami's sports programs.