Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury dealt new blow in $3m legal battle with Jason Sourasis
A $3 million legal fight has turned into a financial nightmare for AFL great Scott Pendlebury as his former business partner’s empire crumbles with $80 million in debts.
EXCLUSIVE: AFL star Scott Pendlebury’s chances of recovering any of his alleged missing $3m have been dealt a dramatic blow ahead of a knife edge court hearing this week.
An investigation into a company run by his former business partner Jason Sourasis uncovered an $80m pile of debts and just $224 in the bank.
A report filed with corporate watchdog ASIC revealed Jaszac Investments, controlled by Sourasis, said: “We recommend that the most appropriate course of action would be for creditors to vote in favour of placing the company into liquidation.
Administrator Brent Morgan added: “The company is clearly insolvent.”
The creditor’s meeting falls on the same day Pendlebury and Sourasis are first due to meet in the Supreme Court, where the Collingwood star is suing his former friend for $3m.
According to Mr Morgan’s report Jaczac has $120m in assets, but they are mainly loans linked to the Western United soccer club, and Mr Morgan’s report describes the value of those loans as “substantially overstated” given Sourasis said they were “largely unrecoverable”.
Western United is sitting out the current A-League season.
Administrators began probing Jaszac – named after Sourasis’s first and middle names, Jason Zack – at the behest of one of Sourasis’ key former backers, Theodore Andriopoulos, who made tens of millions in the health food business.
Andriopoulos is owed $32.5m and is a secured creditor.
If creditors accept Mr Morgan’s recommendation to liquidate Jaszac, it will likely lead to the implosion of Sourasis’s web of businesses, with only liquidators, the Australian Taxation Office and Mr Andriopoulos likely to see any money.
Morgan’s report also flags the possibility of taking further recovery action against Sourasis personally, over potential “insolvent trading/other voidable transactions”.
“Our investigations have revealed that the company may have traded while insolvent from at least 30 June 2019 and as such (Sourasis) may be liable for debts incurred during this period,” the report says.
But Sourasis has limited personal assets.
The future of Western United will likely be decided on Thursday, with lawyers for the ATO likely to publicly announce if it will demand the immediate repayment of the club’s $15m tax bill.
Sourasis’ backers have agreed to pay $11 million to remove a winding up order, but want to delay payment of the $4 million interest bill.
If the ATO accepts the deal, funded by Sourasis’ backer Johnson Controls, then its sports and land deal will stay alive.
However, investors are at risk of losing everything if the ATO demands the full payment on Thursday.
Pendlebury filed a writ in October, claiming that Sourasis, once a close friend, had taken $3 million from his accounts “without his knowledge”.
Sourasis is defending the claim and hit back last week, claiming he had text messages and emails showing that Pendlebury knew he was investing Western United, which won the 2022 A-League championship.
The 91 page report filed to ASIC, details concerns about whether Jaszac Investments was trading while insolvent since 2019.
The unsecured creditors in Jaszac Investments include former North Melbourne player Michael Firrito, who is listed as being owed almost $1.5 million.
Hemisphere Talent Management, which Sourasis previously owned, had a $1 million loan out to Jaszac Investments.
Sayers Road Investments Co, the vehicle behind Western United, is owed almost $20 million, according to the documents, as well as $74,000 to That Sugar Movie Trust.
The company also made investments of $400,000 into the Newcastle Jets and had a $741,000 loan to the “Cornwalls Trust Account”.
Sourasis declined to comment.
More Coverage
Originally published as Collingwood star Scott Pendlebury dealt new blow in $3m legal battle with Jason Sourasis
