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Billabong Chief Executive, Matthew Perrin, has left a trail of $28.2 million in unpaid bills to 20 unsecured creditors, according to a bankruptcy filing this week.
The lawyer-turned Web entrepreneur reported racked up over $1.7 million in gambling debts according to The Sydney Morning Herald. His debts include those to Centrebet boss, Con Kafataris ($300,000) and a Flemington bookie, Frank Hudson ($160,000).
Perrin has been in financial distress before, according to the Herald. Ultimately he paid back his debts.
"This year he has been living off his American Express card and two Mastercards, racking up $82,000 in two months," the paper reports. "Those further down the queue - the bookies, credit cards, banks, and lawyers will have to wait."
Indeed, most bookies have already written off Perrin's debt.
Sportsbet CEO, Matthew Tripp, who said his company is owed $140,000 from Perrin, told the paper, "We've shut the book on it."
Billabong, meanwhile, has attempted to distances themselves from Perrin.
A spokesman for Billabong, John Mossop, Told WAToday.com.au: "It is a simple matter of public record that [Matthew Perrin] left here in 2002. It is not an issue involving us, and we don't want to comment".
Billabong International Ltd. markets apparel and accessories designed for surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding. The company offers more than 2,200 products, including Board shorts; t-shirts; swimwear; shorts, pants, and jeans; fleece tops; "jumpers" or pullover sweaters; jackets; backpacks; sports eyewear; and many other products, primarily for young men and women. Billabong products are sold throughout the world.
Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
