THE VILLAGES, Fla. (WFLA) — A federal judge forced a pickleball business into bankruptcy, but the one time “good friend” of the investors from Florida and across the country did not obey a deadline to produce a list of his creditors.

Jenny Butler of The Villages had expected growth from the $90,000 she invested with Rodney Grubbs apparel and equipment company, Pickleball Rocks.

The promise from Grubbs to Butler and many others was a 12 percent return over 18 months for each $25,000 investment.

“We trusted him as a good friend,” Butler said.

Until a Facebook page created by Florida investor Teri Siewert brought several people together, all asking Grubbs where their money went.

Following an involuntary bankruptcy filing by several investors, a federal judge in Indianapolis ordered Grubbs into Chapter 7 two weeks ago and a trustee was appointed to track down Grubbs assets.

“We are hoping that the trustee will find where he has hidden the money,” Butler said. “He’s got millions of dollars, but he says he does not have a penny in the bank. He says he hasn’t paid the mortgage the last two months.”

Grubbs missed the first deadline tied to the forced bankruptcy, failing to provide a list of creditors to the court on Feb. 14. He was not sanctioned by the court, and now has a new deadline next week to file the list.

In his answer to the forced bankruptcy filing, Grubbs said “there are no less than 250 outstanding lenders.” Grubbs also said his assets include 11 single-family rental properties worth about $800,000 and about $150,000 in pickleball inventory.

After the bankruptcy hearing, Grubbs doubled down on his investment proposals.

“I can sit here and look you in the eye and tell you that never did I ever take anyone’s money that I didn’t believe I was going to be able to pay back at some point and time,” Grubbs said.

In an unrelated dispute that started years before the pickleball pitch fell apart, Grubbs was ordered to pay millions of dollars to disgruntled real estate investors.

Florida resident Philip Piche is owed nearly $4 million, according to court documents.
Attempts to reach Piche for comment have been unsuccessful.

Now, as the trustee searches for his assets, Butler said some investors can’t afford to lose what they gave Grubbs. 

“I know there are some people that said now their whole life has changed,” Butler said. “He took all of their life savings and there are other people who said, how am I going to send my kids to college. So, this has really ruined a lot of people’s lives.”