SEE YOU IN COURT Daniel Kinahan formally summoned in racketeering law suit
He has been warned he has 21 days to respond to the case filed by Heredia Boxing Management in California
Daniel Kinahan is being pursued in the U.S. courts
ORGANISED crime boss Daniel Kinahan has been formally summonsed to respond to US based civil law suit in which he stands accused of racketeering and money-laundering.
He has been warned he has 21 days to respond to the case filed by Heredia Boxing Management in California, who are suing him and promoters MTK over allegedly interfering with their existing contract with Mexican boxer Jo Jo Diaz.
If he fails to respond, the summons warns, judgement by default will be entered against him.
Summons were issued against both MTK and Kinahan yesterday – just days after lead lawyer in the case Eric Montalvo revealed to the Sunday World how he planned on calling 43-year-old gang-boss Kinahan to the stand.
Eric Montalvo
A copy of the summons obtained by SundayWorld.com is addressed to Kinahan care of a PO box at Al Barsha Post Office in Dubai.
It further identifies Kinahan as one of four defendants in a lawsuit filed by Heredia Boxing Management in California.
“A lawsuit has been filed against you,” the summons states.
“Within 21 days after service of this summons on you … you must serve on the plaintiff an answer to the attached complaint or motion under rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure …
Summons were issued against both MTK and Kinahan yesterday
“If you fail to respond, judgement by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.”
A summons was also issued yesterday to MTK.
Just days ago lead case lawyer Eric Montalvo, an ex-Marine, told the Sunday World: “I will call Daniel Kinahan … absolutely I will.
“People can always choose not to show up but there are legal consequences to that.
“We know he is resident in Dubai and may have concerns relating to travel because of his criminality.
“But as long as he is on video, we will gladly take that testimony.
“MTK is physically present in the US.
“At this time, we have had no response from MTK, but we have had response from the legal company they used.”
Court papers filed by Mr. Montalvo and his team on behalf of JoJo Diaz’s contracted management company Heredia Boxing Management (HBM) state the company has a five-year contract to represent Mr. Diaz which expires in 2022.
The suit alleges MTK lured Mr. Diaz away by offering him a $100,000 advance on his next prize purse which “essentially caused Mr. Diaz to mortgage his future away.”
The papers also allege MTK funded a campaign against Heredia in an effort to get it to release Mr. Diaz as a client.
This included the sending of “threatening” letters and social media posts smearing Heredia.
The suit further alleges Kinahan, who is regarded by gardai as the head of the Kinahan organized crime group, still controls MTK, and uses fights and its fighters to launder money from his international drugs trafficking operations.
Furthermore, it accuses MTK and Kinahan of breaching the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act by using money derived from organized crime activity.
The Rico Act was introduced by the federal government to tackle organized crime, but it can also be used in civil suits.
MTK, which was founded by Kinahan and describes itself as the “biggest force in the business of boxing,” is attempting to break into the US market, and has recently signed eight US professional boxers as clients.
In his interview with the Sunday World, Mr. Montalvo estimates the damage caused by MTK in interfering with Heredia’s relationship with Diaz at several million US dollars.
But he said the suit will also seek further sums for related damage caused to the day to day operations of Heredia, to the company’s ability to attract and train other boxers and treble damages to punish MTK and Kinahan for ‘breaking the law.’
The civil case naming Kinahan and MTK was lodged by Heredia and Mr. Montalvo two months after fighter Diaz lodged his own lawsuit accusing manager Rafael Heredia of fraud.
The allegations against Kinahan and MTK are contained in a 32-page filing submitted to the United States District Court in California in support of a civil suit against the Irish organized crime boss and the company he founded in 2012.
Kinahan and MTK claimed to have cut ties in 2017 following the Regency Hotel shooting in which Kinahan associate David Byrne was murdered.
But these claims were upended in June of this year when it emerged Kinahan was acting as an adviser for Tyson Fury, MTK’s biggest client.
Fury was subsequently and reluctantly forced to cut ties with Kinahan in the face of mounting public criticism.
Two years ago, the High Court named Kinahan as a senior figure in organized crime and found the criminal gang he “controlled and managed” was involved in drugs trafficking and firearms offences on an international scale.
In recent years, MTK has repeatedly claimed Kinahan has stepped away from the company.
MTK, Kinahan and the other defendants have not yet indicated their defense to the claims.
Earlier this year, a witness statement heard at the High Court in London from MTK’s then CEO Sandra McClumpha who claimed the company’s ties to Kinahan were severed when she took charge three years ago.
Ms. McClumpha won a court order against a Twitter user, known only as ‘whistleblower’, who posted tweets about MTK and Kinahan.
She said: “A great number of the tweets published by the defendant are directed at Mr. Kinahan directly, and to MTK by alleged association.
“Mr. Kinahan has no interest in (or association with) MTK whatsoever.
“I deny unequivocally MTK’s association with any criminal enterprise.
“As CEO of MTK, I have never had to assist the police with any criminal enquiries, whether about an association with Mr. Kinahan or otherwise.
“The business of MTK is commercial and entirely legitimate in every way possible.”
By Patrick O\’Connell