Bankruptcy

Chester regular Marwan Koukash has been removed as a registered owner by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) due to being declared bankrupt, according to published reports. The 69-year-old Palestinian won the Chester Cup four times with his runners between 2008 and 2018. His record at the track stands at 97 winners. Holding a PhD in electrical engineering, the businessman owned the Salford City Reds rugby team at one time, as well as a string of hotels among his various interests. The bankruptcy petition was filed in June of 2022 and...

The trustee overseeing owner, breeder Ahmed Zayat's personal bankruptcy proceedings made several court filings Tuesday to recover roughly $90,000 in allegedly fraudulent payments to various law firms. According to the court filings, Zayat was insolvent at the time the transfers were made, and therefore, the law firms who are the defendants in the suits received more than they would have done through the Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings "had the Transfer[s] not been made." Trustee Donald Biase alleges in his court filings that the largest transfer of money Zayat fraudulently made...

The trustee in Ahmed Zayat's personal bankruptcy case has negotiated a $1.5-million settlement to be paid by the debtor's brother, Sherif Zayat, that a court document stated will "resolve all claims and causes of action" related to the multiple mortgages on Zayat's home. The motion for approval of that settlement, if so ordered by a judge in a New Jersey federal bankruptcy court July 6, doesn't mean the end to the complicated, now 21-month-long Chapter 7 petition by the allegedly insolvent former Thoroughbred owner and breeder. But it does mean...

In a bankruptcy case already brimming with fraud allegations that has languished in federal court for over a year, the trustee pouring over the finances of Ahmed Zayat filed a new complaint alleging wrongdoing Friday. This latest court action in the twisted saga of the owner and breeder of Triple Crown champ American Pharoah alleges that Zayat and his wife, Joanne, secured a $400,000 mortgage on two back lots adjacent to their New Jersey home in 2018, then had the money wired to the bank account of Zayat's fiscally troubled...

In an effort to claw back at least $200,000 in transfers by Ahmed Zayat that allegedly constitute "fraudulent conveyance" because they occurred just prior Zayat's filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, the trustee in charge of vetting Zayat's case filed two complaints in federal court Wednesday that aim to recover that money so it might instead go toward paying creditors. Zayat claims to be $19 million in debt, and a massive chunk of that money is owed to Thoroughbred-related individuals and entities. According to documentation filed Apr. 21 in United...

Claiming access to only $300 in cash and $14.22 in two checking accounts, Ahmed Zayat, the financially embattled Triple Crown-winning breeder and owner, filed for Chapter 7 protection Sep. 8 in United States Bankruptcy Court in his home state of New Jersey. In court documents, Zayat is claiming $19,371,466 in total liabilities versus total estimated assets of $1,892,815. Thoroughbred trainers, horse farms, bloodstock businesses, veterinarians, and equine transportation companies are among the 132 entities listed as creditors who are due $14,755,1717 in "non-priority unsecured claims." In his legal filing, Zayat...

A Fayette County, Kentucky judge granted a motion at an emergency hearing Wednesday to put Zayat Stables and its horses into receivership, reports the Lexington Herald-Leader. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by New York-based MGG Investment Group alleging that owner Ahmed Zayat had sold shares in Triple Crown-winning stallion American Pharoah that were being used as collateral against loans made by MGG to Zayat. MGG's lawsuit alleges that Zayat defaulted on his loans in September, and seeks at least $23 million from Zayat. According to the Herald-Leader, Zayat sent...