Cocaine smuggler Matthew Doyle is being pursued for bankruptcy by lawyer Robert Kaufmann

Things have gone from bad to worse for the glamorous wife of Sydney cocaine smuggler Matthew Doyle after his lawyer commenced action in pursuit of almost $200,000.

Party boy turned cocaine smuggler Matthew Doyle is facing a new threat, this time thanks to an unpaid legal bill.

Doyle, who is serving a maximum eight years jail over an attempt to smuggle $80 million worth of cocaine into Australia, has been served a bankruptcy notice by his one-time lawyer who claims the 33-year-old failed to pay his legal bill of more than $184,000.

The lawyer is Robert Kaufmann, from RK lawyers in Paddington, who represented Doyle before the socialite property developer pleaded guilty to smuggling 50kg of cocaine.

If Mr Kaufmann is successful, it could also result in further problems for Doyle’s glamorous wife Kelsea and their young child.

A trustee would be appointed to sell off Doyle’s assets to recover the money.

But it is likely that Mr Kauffman will have to line up behind the state’s criminal intelligence agency, the NSW Crime Commission, to get his money.

Matthew Doyle with his wife Kelsea before Matthew was arrested and convicted on drugs charges. Picture: Facebook

After Doyle’s 2019 arrest, the commission froze his assets, which included two properties at Burraneer and Caringbah South, shares in 16 companies, a Land Rover, Toyota Hilux and cash.

The commission has a case against Doyle in the NSW Supreme Court.

Mrs Doyle, who has reportedly vowed to stand by her husband during his jail sentence, is understood to still be living at the $2.5m Burraneer property, which has a caveat placed on it courtesy of the commission.

The bankruptcy matter is listed to be heard in the Federal Circuit court of Australia on February 1.

According to documents filed in court for the bankruptcy matter, Mr Kauffman sued Doyle in a civil matter before the state’s District Court earlier this year.

Mr Kauffman won the case and the court ordered Doyle to pay him $184,559, the documents said.

When Doyle failed to meet the October 20 deadline to pay the debt, Mr Kauffman commenced further legal action to have Doyle declared bankrupt.

Kelsea Doyle who has vowed to stand by her jailed husband. Picture: Fcebook

Doyle was part of a syndicate that was planning to smuggle $80 million worth of cocaine into Sydney. Picture: Facebook

If Mr Kauffman wins, Doyle’s assets will be sold off by a trustee to cover the debt and any other costs incurred during the process.

The “creditor’s petition” for the bankruptcy proceedings was served on Doyle at Long Bay jail, the documents said.

Mr Kauffman’s lawyers have also provided the Australian Financial Security Authority with a dossier on Doyle, outlining any alias he has been known by, plus his business history.

Doyle now has until January 28 to prove the bankruptcy attempt is not valid or he will be ordered to appear to defend it.

Kelsea Doyle leaves court where her husband Matthew was sentenced to up to eight years in prison. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Doyle has appealed after he was sentenced to a maximum of eight years in jail with a minimum term of five years over the plot to smuggle the cocaine into Australia.

In sentencing Doyle, District Court Judge Penny Hock told the court he was the plot’s “principal and major participant” who recruited his co-offenders and had previously participated in “substantial” drug supply.

Doyle was arrested outside a Marrickville warehouse on September 4, 2019, while trying to collect the drugs.

Police had replaced the drugs with an inert substance.

It was the culmination of a five-month undercover police operation that was sparked when Doyle went to Las Vegas.

Doyle recruited Jared Raymond Hart and Raoul Kesby into the smuggling plot and they were sentenced alongside him after all three pleaded guilty.

It brought an end to Doyle’s life in the fast lane.

He was a frequent fixture on Sydney’s social scene and at one point during the investigation, told an undercover cop: “As I said to you; I’m not a gangster, I’m a businessman … You know I love money. I like making money and I like making friends.”