A Kentucky county judge on Wednesday granted a motion sought by a New York investment fund to put all of the assets of Zayat Stables in receivership in response to a lawsuit claiming that the owner of the stable, Ahmed Zayat, defaulted on loans and misrepresented his assets. The move by Fayette County Judge Kim Bunnell came just one day after the investment firm, MGG Investment Group, filed a lawsuit seeking $23 million from Zayat, who has a long history of financial troubles. MGG claimed in the suit that Zayat had sold assets that were being used for collateral for its loans, including shares in 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, without notifying the firm, and had engaged in a “fraudulent scheme” to conceal the transactions. In the suit, MGG says that Zayat defaulted on the conditions of the loans in September. The lawsuit says that under the terms of its financing agreement with Zayat, he was required to pay down principal of the loans if any of his equine assets were sold. The suit says that Zayat sold the assets without notifying the investment firm “because of severe financial troubles at Zayat Stables.” Zayat and his son Justin, who plays a role in the operation of the stable, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The allegations in the suit, which was first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, are yet another blow to the financial reputation of Zayat, who was sued by his bank in 2009 for $34 million. Zayat Stables was reorganized in bankruptcy court the next year in order to resolve the suit. Most recently, in October of last year, the trainer Rudy Rodriguez attempted to sell two of Zayat’s horses in his barn. Rodriguez’s attorney, Drew Mollica, claimed that Zayat Stables had not paid its bills in full “for years.” The suit claims that Zayat sold nine lifetime breeding rights to American Pharoah beginning in late 2018. The shares were sold for a total of $3.3 million, according to the suit, with most of the sales being made to a holding company owned by Coolmore Stud, which stands American Pharoah. The suit also says that Zayat Stables sold “interests and/or rights in at least 15 other valuable racing Thoroughbreds,” including Bodemeister and Eskendreya, in transactions that were also “concealed” from MGG. The suit says that MGG learned about the sales early this year after it began meeting with Zayat to discuss a liquidation plan he had sent to the company. Zayat grew up in Egypt but moved to the U.S. to attend college. He later amassed a fortune in Egypt when a beverage company he owned as part of an investment group was sold to Heineken in 2002. He began purchasing racehorses in the U.S. shortly thereafter, and he became world-famous after American Pharoah won the Triple Crown, the first horse to do so in 37 years. But financial problems have dogged the stable for almost its entire existence. Trainers have routinely accused the Zayats of failing to pay their bills, despite the stable’s consistent success at the top levels of the game, and the 2010 reorganization of the stable occurred after strikingly similar allegations to those made in the suit filed by MGG. American Pharoah’s breeding rights were sold prior to the horse winning the Triple Crown. He has gone on to become one of the most sought-after stallions in the U.S., following big-ticket auction sales and early successes for some of his foals. The lawsuit states that Zayat eventually acknowledged the sales of the shares in American Pharoah to MGG’s executives, and that he sent an email to MGG in early January stating that he was ready to hand over his assets. “I am ready if needed to walk away and give you the keys and full control if that is what you want,” the email said, according to the suit.