A federal judge has rejected a bankrupt LoHi sushi restaurant’s plan for restructuring after finding it would force out two minority co-owners and unfairly benefit a third.

Sushi Ronin, at 2930 Umatilla St., went bankrupt late last year as its majority owner, Alex Gurevich, feuded in court with minority owners Rebecca and Jeremy Crawford. The bankruptcy canceled a summer 2024 trial in which the Crawfords would have accused Gurevich of fraud and self-dealing and Gurevich would have accused the Crawfords of fraud.

Their years-long court dispute bankrupted Sushi Ronin and has continued to strain it.

“The business is ongoing but it’s not making a lot of money,” Gurevich said last week. “But so many restaurants right now are closing and we’re still afloat. Everyone has been very supportive of the situation, knowing that we bled so much money dealing with this legal battle.”

Among other alleged behavior, the Crawfords take issue with management fees that Sushi Ronin paid VK LLC, a company Gurevich owns. Gurevich calls the 6% cut of monthly revenue his “salary” for running the restaurant. The Crawfords call it excessive.

Gurevich would like to invest $50,000 in Sushi Ronin and, in exchange, have the company’s $429,000 in unsecured debt excused and have all of the company’s shares transferred to him. The Crawfords would split that $50,000 with Sushi Ronin’s landlord, which is also owed money from the restaurant, and receive only 8% of what they are allegedly owed.

“The $50,000 paid into the plan by Mr. Gurevich would be easily recouped during the life of the plan through the 6-percent management fee paid to VK,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Romero in Denver determined last month. “VK would be paid $30,600 in management fees between July and December 2024 and $64,872 in management fees during 2025.”

“The court believes this is hardly fair and equitable to creditors in this case,” he wrote.

For that reason, Romero rejected the plan and declined to dismiss Sushi Ronin’s debt.