By Tennis Now | Tuesday, November 21, 2017
Maria Sharapova is under investigation for criminal conspiracy in India following the collapse of a luxury housing project she endorsed.
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Maria Sharapova endorsed a luxury housing development called Ballet by Sharapova.
The five-time Grand Slam champion is now dancing with legal issues following its collapse.
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The 30-year-old Sharapova is under investigation for criminal conspiracy and cheating charges in India following the failing of the luxury housing project.
Developers of Ballet by Sharapova allegedly accepted millions of dollars from prospective home buyers, before the project folded leaving the would-be buyers at a loss.
Sharapova and the development firm, Homestead Infrastructure Development, are both named in the case, authorities in New Delhi told AFP.
"We have registered a case of cheating on directions from the court," local police officer Arvind Sharma told AFP.
The Ballet by Sharapova luxury development was planned to feature 120 residences in a 42-story tower with each home described as "an architectural masterpiece exuding graceful femininity and strength, athleticism and elegance, craft and serenity," according to the Ballet by Sharapova website.
In 2012, Sharapova travelled to India to launch the luxury housing project located in Gurgaon, India outside of New Delhi. Sharapova said her goal was to create luxury housing on the level of her own home.
"My goal is to make the owners feel like they own something special and different from everything else available to them. And this perspective is the same as I would have when looking for a home myself," Sharapova is quoted as saying on the Ballet by Sharapova website.
While it appears Sharapova was paid to endorse the project and not directly involved in its development, an attorney for the complainant said she is an agent for the company and therefore named in charges.
"Any celebrity who endorses any product technically becomes an agent for that company. No one would have invested in the project if Sharapova's name was not there," Piyush Singh, attorney for the complainant, told AFP.
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The 61st-ranked Sharapova, who finished the 2017 season with a 16-6 record, has been training and promoting her memoir Unstoppable My Life So Far and has not yet publicly commented on the case.