Jessica Andrade Sues Ex-Coach For Allegedly Embezzling $2 Million

Former UFC Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade has sued her ex-coach and manager, Gilliard Parana, for embezzlement.

Andrade worked with Parana, the owner of Parana Vale Tudo gym, from 2012, when she was 21, until this year. However, relations have now turned sour. She has accused Parana of stealing $2 million. Parana is currently back in Brazil, while the lawsuit was issued in the US as he announced his retirement from coaching and managing. 

“We have a lawsuit going about TransferWise and the money that was transferred to other people I’ve never seen in my life. That happened when he was taking care of my finances, and I had no access to anything. At one point he said, ‘Jessica, look, let me handle this for you, you don’t have to worry about any of this.’ And as always, I trusted him. He removed my access to the account. He said, ‘You don’t need to look at your accounts, you’ll have a monthly salary.’ I was making good money in the beginning, but in the end I don’t know how [that money ran out].

“He said I was shopping too much on Amazon, but with the investigation and all that, [we saw that] I made $2 million and spent $10,000 on Amazon. Where did the rest of the money go? It makes no sense, and it’s being investigated now, and we’ll find out where every penny went. I’ll just wait for now. I’m preparing for this fight [on Saturday], and as soon as it’s over, I’ll look at this lawsuit again and keep it moving. The lawsuit is moving in the United States and he’s in Brazil, so I don’t know how it’s going to work. He was quite smart, he left before things happened,” Andrade

Andrade’s finances are now under her control. She has been working with her new coach, Matheus Naccache, and has won her last two fights. She knocked out Mackenzie Dern, followed by a split decision win over Marina Rodriguez. She has had 27 UFC fights with a record of 17-10. On Saturday, she will feature in the co-main event against Natalia Silva at UFC Vegas 97. Parana denies any wrongdoing as he vowed to prove his innocence.

“Anyone who has a brain and knows how to do math will see that she really doesn’t spend her money on just a few purchases on Amazon. She has a lot of expenses, and there are so many that she even gets lost in the calculations. Jessica is not incapable. Jessica is not a 15-year-old girl. And Jessica is not illiterate. Jessica was never forbidden from going to the bank, from calling the bank and from finding out how her accounts were.

“Jessica always had full access to her things and was always intelligent enough to know everything that happened in her financial life. And I was never the guy who took care of her financial life. I was just her advisor when she needed it and asked for it. But all of this will be proven if there is a coherent investigation. May justice be served and may the wrongdoer pay, because lying to the authorities and lying to have a trial go your favor is also a crime. Let’s wait and see what happens,” Parana