Former Cardinals GM Steve Keim Named Chief Operating Officer at Company Accused of Scamming NFL Players Out of $1 Million

Former Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim held a senior role at Motion Ventures, a company now accused of fleecing former NFL players out of more than $1 million, according to a pitch deck obtained by Pro Football Talk. The document, dated November 2025, lists Keim as "chief operation/growth officer," the only person named in the deck besides company founder Mohamed Coulibaly.

Keim joined Klutch Sports Group as general manager of its football division in 2024 and left that company in March 2026, according to the Daily Wire. His work with Motion Ventures ran alongside that job.

The pitch deck talked Keim up in glowing terms. "Steve plays a critical role in guiding expansion strategy, evaluating new opportunities, and supporting leadership across divisions by navigating high-stakes decision-making, managing large budgets, and leading multidisciplinary teams as Motion Ventures continues to scale nationally and internationally," it read.

Barron's first reported the allegations against Motion Ventures on July 15. Three former NFL players told the outlet they collectively lost more than $1 million after putting money into a "larger pooled escrow structure" Coulibaly ran, on top of separate investments in Shopify-powered online stores. Barron's reporter Jacob Adelman told Good Morning America that sales records shown to investors were fabricated. "We were able to determine that those transactions were manually input by somebody with access to the backend of these stores," Adelman said. "The purpose of this was to make these athletes think that they had these successful investments."

One example cited by EssentiallySports: a purported $5,000 order from Luxembourg for 100 desktop humidifiers and a dozen USB cup warmers. Barron's found the buyer listed never made the purchase.

Former New York Giants linebacker Tae Crowder told Good Morning America he put his entire $500,000 in savings into one of Coulibaly's websites. "I saw him hanging out with a bunch of different guys that I knew which, made me feel comfortable," Crowder said. He added he wants to help other athletes avoid the same trap. Other athletes reportedly connected to Coulibaly include Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean, Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter, former Eagles safety Terrell Edmunds, running back Matt Breida, and U.S. men's soccer player Mark McKenzie. The pitch deck also named Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider as a client.

Keim told ESPN he never took a salary or received insurance from Motion Ventures, and he says he personally lost seven figures on his own investments in the company. He says Coulibaly used his name and reputation to legitimize the business without ever formally listing him as an owner or officer, something Keim says he only discovered when meeting with a banker about the company. According to TMZ, Keim has since apologized to investors and has retained a lawyer.

Keim confirmed he was working alongside Coulibaly, that he promoted Motion Ventures to friends, family, and players who asked him about it, and that he participated in conference calls that included prospective investors, according to Barron's reporting cited by the Daily Wire. A pitch deck that names someone as chief operating officer and describes them managing large budgets and leading teams typically reflects active involvement rather than no involvement at all.

Coulibaly disputed the fraud allegations before his death. "I strongly dispute a number of the factual assertions and characterizations contained in the Barron's article and any follow-up reporting that relies upon them," he told the New York Post.

Coulibaly, 24, was found dead in a swimming pool in Harrison Township, New Jersey, on July 31, after his family requested a welfare check, according to InvestmentNews. Local authorities are investigating his death. FINRA BrokerCheck records show he worked as a registered broker at Trinity Wealth Securities LLC in Philadelphia from April 2025 to March 2026, before founding Motion Ventures.

No arrests have been made and no criminal charges have been filed against anyone connected to Motion Ventures or in connection with Coulibaly's death. The claims against both Coulibaly and, by extension, Keim's role remain unproven allegations from investors and reporting, not findings from a court or regulator.

Keim is also facing a separate controversy: former Cardinals receiver DeAndre Hopkins accused him, in a since-deleted post, of setting up a PED test that cost Hopkins $5.2