Shortly before, Swedish goalkeeper star Robin Lehner filed for personal bankruptcy in Nevada in the US, where he lives.
Since then, more and more details about his debts – in the range of several hundred million kroner – have emerged. Among other things, he bought exotic snakes for SEK 12 million from a snake farm in Missouri in the middle of the USA, and also invested in a snake and lizard park in Florida.
Lehner’s bankruptcy filing is a so-called “Chapter 7” filing, which is something of a fast-track variant. When the Express spoke to experts in Las Vegas, the strategy was questioned by Lehner and his attorneys, because it is highly unusual for someone with Lehner’s income to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the solution opens the door for individual creditors to sue Lehner to get their money back before the bankruptcy will be completed in time.
– So it is very possible that this is just the beginning of a long battle. Regardless – it’s very strange, said Nancy Rapoport, who is a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas at the time.
And that – new processes – is exactly what has happened now.
THIS IS HOW THE BANKRUPTCY APPLICATION WORKS
Chapter 7 means, in short, that you liquidate all assets – except those that are considered exempt – and then divide it among the creditors. When the bankruptcy is finished, those who had debts to collect cannot try to sue the bankrupt to get more back.
Under Chapter 13, you instead get to keep your assets but are forced to pay back the debts over a longer period of time – all of your income in addition to the corresponding subsistence minimum must go to the creditors.
Shopped with credit card 77 times
In bankruptcy court in Nevada, two creditors have submitted the first documents in their respective lawsuits. One lawsuit comes from American Express, where Lehner has a credit card.
American Express representatives write that Lehner first obtained a lawyer in the bankruptcy case on Dec. 7, and the company alleges that Lehner and his wife used their Platinum cards 77 times in two weeks from Dec. 15 through the days before the bankruptcy filing was filed, for purchases at a total value of just over one million kroner. Since the purchases were made so close to the bankruptcy filing, according to the lawsuit, they should not be counted as debts that can be “cleaned up” in a bankruptcy.
Traded under false pretenses
American Express further alleges that Lehner and his wife Donya used the credit card knowing they would not be able to pay their debts, and that their purchasing patterns changed significantly in a short period of time.
“The defendants incurred portions of the balance under false pretenses, misrepresentation or actual fraud”the company claims in the lawsuit and argues that roughly 95,000 dollars – around 980,000 kroner – plus costs and damages must be paid to Amex.
As part of the evidence, Lehner’s account statement is attached, which shows in black and white which purchases Lehner made.
Here, Lehner traded for hundreds of thousands of kroner
The most eye-catching items are purchases at Aquatic Treasures in Las Vegas, a store that sells, among other things, exotic fish and coral.
Although Aquatic Treasures sells what can be considered relatively expensive animals – for example, two seahorses for 1,500 kroner in a weekend sale, according to a Facebook post – Lehner has managed to trade for significantly larger sums.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKro7RtLp_P/
In total, he has spent over SEK 800,000 on aquatic animal stores, most of it at Aquatic Treasures. Exactly what the store sells in those price ranges is unclear, even after Expressen’s call there.
– The shop here is full of people, I don’t have time to talk. And not to be rude, but it’s actually not nice to block the phone line either when there are customers who might want to call, says the man who claims to be the manager of Aquatic Treasures, and hangs up.
Accuses Lehner: Intended to defraud
The other opposition to the bankruptcy filing comes from the Aliya Growth Fund, to which Lehner had turned to take out loans of around SEK 50 million, in order to be able to pay off other loans he had taken.
The lawsuit alleges that Lehner concealed that, at the time of the loan, he already had a number of other loans and was embroiled in a series of lawsuits that could lead to additional debt.
“The defendant submitted materially false and misleading written statements to AFG with the intent to defraud AFG”one writes.
– This case is not something I can say anything about at the moment, says Brad Larsen, who is the lawyer representing Aliya Growth Fund.
Does not play – but earns 50 million a year
Lehner hasn’t played anything this season and probably won’t – he’s been rehabilitating from preseason hip surgery.
Because you get your salary while you’re injured, and because the NHL salary is paid during the regular season but not during the playoffs, Lehner has thus completed three of five seasons of the five-year contract he signed with Vegas, worth just over 250 million kroner.
His previous NHL contracts have been worth a total of around 20 million dollars – just over 200 million kroner.
