Suns Minority Owners Accuse Ishbia of Self-Dealing in Filing

Minority owners of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury filed a legal response in Delaware State Court on Monday, accusing majority owner Mat Ishbia of treating the franchises as his personal financial vehicle through undisclosed conflicted transactions and manipulative capital calls. The filing by Andy Kohlberg and Scott Seldin, holdovers from the previous ownership era, escalates a dispute that began with their initial lawsuit in August seeking access to team financial records.

The response counters a lawsuit Ishbia filed against the pair in October, alleging fraud, self-dealing, and breaches of the operating agreement. Kohlberg and Seldin claim Ishbia has operated the teams for his personal gain and the benefit of his mortgage company, United Wholesale Mortgage, rather than for the franchises' profitability. They cite examples including a loan to the Suns at above-market interest rates, the sale of arena naming rights to United Wholesale Mortgage in a 10-year, nearly $115 million deal that rebranded the venue as the Mortgage Matchup Center without full disclosure to minority owners, and leasing the Mercury's new practice facility from his own entities.