las vegas

Rokit’s Defense Shield Tested as Bankruptcy Trustee Lawyers Up

Rokit’s Defense Shield Tested as Bankruptcy Trustee Lawyers Up
Rokit’s Defense Shield Tested as Bankruptcy Trustee Lawyers Up

The Rokit Group of Companies, the conflict-prone business conglomerate founded by billionaire John Paul DeJoria and his British partner, Jonathan Kendrick, may be reaching its legal event horizon in a series of court cases across the U.S.

Last week, the bankruptcy trustee managing the Chapter 7 case of a Rokit subsidiary received court approval to retain an outside law firm to “investigate potential litigation claims.”

More from Sportico.com

The move by trustee Peter Mastan comes as the creditors’ meeting in the bankruptcy of Able Events, previously known as Rokit Marketing Inc., was continued last week for the 10th consecutive time since last summer. It has now been rescheduled for mid-September.

Five years ago, Rokit put itself on the American sports map by entering into a series of high-profile, multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals with professional teams, including the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Formula 1’s Williams Racing, and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers.

But as Sportico has reported, each of these agreements prematurely collapsed after Rokit ceased making good on its payments. This pattern of delinquency extended to other of its business dealings as well: Last month, for example, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury ruled against a different

Read the rest

Golden Knights goalie Robin Lehner accused of fraud in bankruptcy case

Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner was accused of fraud in connection with his ongoing Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.

Aliya Growth Fund, a creditor in the bankruptcy of Lehner and his wife, Donya, petitioned the court to require the NHL goalie to pay back $4.75 million tied to a loan the company provided, according to new court documents.

In a separate court filing, American Express is seeking the repayment of nearly $100,000 in charges made by the Lehners.

Both Aliya and American Express made claims of fraud against the Lehners in the court filings.

The Review-Journal reached out to the Lehners’ attorney for comment but didn’t receive a response.

The Lehners filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in December with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas. They owe creditors $27.3 million against personal property of $5.1 million, according to documents filed with the court in February.

The majority of the Lehners’ debt is tied to Phoenix-based solar technology company SolarCode LLC; a reptile farm in Plato, Missouri; a 20 percent stake in a reptile and avian zoo in Punta Gorda, Florida; and other personal property.

The couple used the loan from Aliya to pay down debts tied to two other loans:

Read the rest