Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia is being sued by two of the team’s minority owners.
Scott Seldin and Andy Kohlberg, minority stakeholders in the franchise, filed a lawsuit in Delaware State Court accusing Ishbia of using the franchise as “his personal piggy bank.” Seldin and Kohlberg claim Ishbia has given the Suns sweetheart deals that benefit his other holdings.
“Ishbia does not own the Suns to make money for the company but he does operate it as a personal fiefdom for his own personal gain and for the benefit of his other businesses, including his mortgage company United Wholesale Mortgage,” the filing states, via Baxter Holmes of ESPN. “The reality is that Ishbia is using the Suns as his personal piggy bank, including through a lengthy list of conflicted transactions — only some of which the minority owners are aware of.”
The plaintiffs also allege both the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury have been operating at a net loss since Ishbia bought the teams.
Seldin and Kohlberg are both holdovers from the team’s previous ownership, which was led by Robert Sarver. Ishbia said their claims are part of a “shameless shakedown” and is countersuing.
Ishbia purchased the Suns in 2023, and has faced criticism for how he has run the organization since. He regularly puts forward a defiant stance publicly whenever the franchise is publicly criticized.
