Witnesses came from Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Kansas and around Indiana to be in federal bankruptcy court in downtown Indianapolis in a proceeding to decide if Rodney Grubbs should be forced into chapter 7 bankruptcy, Fox59.com reported. Eight witnesses testified they met Rodney Grubbs through pickleball, usually at tournaments. Grubbs’ pickleball equipment and apparel business impressed them. Later, Grubbs would befriend them, and eventually ask if they wanted to invest in his business. With promises of a 12 percent or higher annual return on investment, they handed over thousands. All of them said Grubbs never paid back interest or principle on the loans. For each, the losses totaled in the thousands. Attorney Matthew Foster, who filed the bankruptcy petition on behalf of a group of seven creditors, said there are many more owed money. Foster says losses are in the “millions of dollars.” FOX59/CBS4 has previously reported Grubbs already faced a trio of civil court judgments and a cease-and-desist order from state regulators. To execute the loans, Grubbs had been issuing promissory notes without a state license. Grubbs functioned as his own attorney in the court proceeding, but did not contest any of the testimony, did not challenge evidence and did not cross-examine witnesses. Instead, he made repeated pleas to let his business, Pickleball Rocks, continue to operate under the belief that in the long term revenue from sales could provide more money. Grubbs even acknowledged that someone else would need to be brought in to run the company but predicted with continued growth in the popularity of the sport, it could generate a million dollars a year in sales. Bankruptcy Judge Robyn Moberly was not convinced and ordered Grubbs into bankruptcy.
