Controversial businessman Jason Ader has placed his special purpose acquisition company 26 Capital Acquisition Corp into Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing a slew of unpaid debts.
26 Capital was the company through which Ader had previously sought a merger with Philippines integrated resort Okada Manila with a view to listing on the NASDAQ. That merger fell through in early 2023 with Okada Manila entities alleging “various material breaches of the merger agreement and fraudulent conduct by 26 Capital”.
It was later revealed that at least one law firm appointed to work on the merger had filed a claim against 26 Capital for unpaid fees while a key investor had sought to have Ader removed as the company’s principal once the merger collapsed.
According to a report by the New York Post, 26 Capital filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 11 July 2025, listing in the process a raft of unpaid lawyers, accountants, translators, tax officials and PR firms owed “six-figure or seven-figure sums”. It also claims that two of Ader’s own companies – 26 Capital Holdings and SpringOwl Asset Management – are owed US$14 million.
In comments to the Post, Ader said he had taken “extreme care to ensure that not a single public shareholder [in 26 Capital] lost any money” and had returned over US$275 million in trust proceeds”.
He also insisted that other claims and disputed invoices linked to 26 Capital were being addressed “transparently and lawfully” through the bankruptcy process.
However, the Post reports that a US bankruptcy judge instead stripped Ader of all control in this process on 22 August with a US Trustee administrator appointed to take charge of settling his debts.
The media outlet cited a source as saying, “There is no evidence I have seen to date that his related companies provided any services worthy of the billings asserted in the Chapter 11 filing. It reeks of gamesmanship and bad faith.”
It also outlined details of a separate lawsuit against Ader by American Express seeking repayment on US$370,000 he allegedly spent using a collection of AMEX credit cards.
A lawsuit brought against Ader by his own mother in 2024 over repayments on a US$13 million mortgage linked to his deceased father’s estate is ongoing.
