A former Nike music-licensing employee and an outside consultant are facing racketeering and theft charges over an alleged kickback scheme that prosecutors say drained more than $1 million from the company. John Griffith and Brad Mosher were each indicted on 24 felony counts by a Washington County grand jury in May, according to court documents first reported by FOX 12 Oregon. Griffith's LinkedIn profile lists his title as Global Brand Marketing, Music Supervision, Strategy and Licensing, a role that gave him authority over the company's music-vendor contracts.
Prosecutors allege Mosher owned a music-licensing consultancy, Good Measure LLC, whose only client was Nike, and that Griffith set inflated prices for the firm to bill the company, with Mosher then routing roughly half of those payments back to Griffith through a shell company called Quiver and Bow LLC. Washington County Deputy District Attorney Carlos Catibayan wrote in a court filing that the two men, over roughly two and a half years starting in June 2020, "conspired to operate a criminal enterprise to steal over $1,000,000 from Nike through an orchestrated kickback scheme." Prosecutors identified at least 11 fraudulent transactions of $50,000 or more.
Each man faces two counts of racketeering, a class A felony under Oregon law, alongside 11 counts of aggravated theft in the first degree by deception and 11 counts of laundering a monetary instrument. Both were arrested in early June; Griffith is out on $100,000 bail, while Mosher's bail was set at $5,000, and Mosher appeared in Washington County Circuit Court on July 24 for his initial appearance. Court documents identify Nike and its Beaverton headquarters as the victim, and the company is seeking full restitution.
The two men's attorneys have staked out different positions. Mosher's lawyer, Chris Heywood, said his client has cooperated with both Nike and law enforcement, calling it "a complex and far-reaching case." Griffith's attorney, Kristen Winemiller, defended his record, saying his work for Nike "has been highly successful." Nike, for its part, disputed Griffith's seniority, telling FOX 12 that he "is no longer employed by Nike," that he left in 2022 after a business affairs role that included music licensing duties, and that "he was not an executive at the company."
The case adds to a run of criminal prosecutions tied to the US music business. In March, North Carolina musician Michael Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in what prosecutors called the first criminal case of its kind, after collecting more than $8 million in royalties using AI-generated songs and bot-driven streams. No trial date has been set for Griffith and Mosher, whom the Washington County District Attorney's office has asked the court to try together.
The facts
- A former Nike music licensing staffer and a consultant were each indicted on 24 felony counts
- Prosecutors allege a kickback scheme that drained more than $1 million from Nike
- The consultant's firm, Good Measure LLC, had Nike as its only client
- Prosecutors say payments were routed back through a shell company, Quiver and Bow LLC
- At least 11 fraudulent transactions of $50,000 or more are alleged
- The alleged scheme ran from June 2020 to December 2022
- Both men were arrested in early June
- Nike says Griffith left the company in 2022 and was not an executive
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