Michael Johnson accused of "secretly" paying himself $500,000

A court docket submitting alleges the Grand Slam Monitor founder paid himself “with out correct board approval or justification.”

Michael Johnson, who based the now embattled Grand Slam Monitor, has been accused by collectors of “secretly” paying himself $500,000 final summer time.

In a submitting from america Chapter Courtroom for the District of Delaware, collectors declare Johnson made the cost “with out correct Board approval or justification”, eight days earlier than the fourth and closing occasion of 2025 – in Los Angeles in June – was cancelled as a result of money move issues.

A number of distributors at the moment are in search of court docket approval to sue Johnson and Winners Alliance for $25 million. Three of Grand Slam Monitor’s distributors – Momentum-CHP Partnership, Girraphic Park and SRK Methods – make up the collectors committee and it’s their job there to symbolize all unsecured collectors. They’re owed round $3 million, $690,000 and $248,000 respectively.

Grand Slam Monitor filed for chapter final December and, one month later, acknowledged that it was greater than $40 million in debt. The league initially claimed it had $30 million in funding however Winners Alliance, one of many the early traders in Johnson’s challenge, had solely paid $13 million.

In hopes of returning in both 2026 or 2027, Grand Slam Monitor had proposed a plan the place athletes can be repaid about 85% of what they’re owed, whereas collectors would get about 1.5% of what’s due.

Nevertheless collectors final week rejected that plan, with the committee stating the league confirmed “stunning ranges of incompetence, dangerous religion, self-dealing and failures to fulfil its fiduciary responsibility,” whereas its proposed plan “violates the elemental bedrock tenet of the Chapter Code.”

On Johnson, state legal professionals, on behalf of the collectors committee, mentioned: “Mr Johnson initiated a cost of $500,000 purportedly on account of an unsecured observe. There are not any board minutes which replicate authorisation of this insider avoidable switch.

“Shockingly, Mr Johnson elected to secretly want himself over the athletes and different, non-insider collectors, whereas on the similar time feigning to the general public that he was selflessly seeking to advance the pursuits of the athletes. Furthermore, on the similar time, the debtor knew it was in precarious monetary straits with out ample money to finish its contemplated season.”

The submitting additionally alleges that Winners Alliance “instructed” Grand Slam Monitor to go ahead with its Miami and Philadelphia conferences, regardless of not having ample funds to take action. The submitting claims that Grand Slam Monitor didn’t anticipate to be worthwhile till 2027.

In December Johnson “refused to surrender on the mission of Grand Slam Monitor and the long run we’re constructing collectively” and confronted “vital challenges which have prompted frustrations for a lot of – myself included.”

In October, Grand Slam Monitor distributed $5.5 million to athletes – round half of what they’re owed – however giant sums stay owed.

Grand Slam Monitor launched in 2024 with an unprecedented quantity of prize cash, planning to award $12.6 million in its first season. Every Slam winner was promised $100,000.