Zeus Network CEO Lemuel Plummer has been ordered by a three-member arbitration panel to repay $9,826,837 to the company after the arbitrators found that millions of dollars in payments, withdrawals and transfers lacked adequate business documentation. The findings include $625,000 sent to a church led by Plummer’s father, compensation the panel said was not properly approved, and large sums moved through payment apps and cash withdrawals.

The dispute is now moving through the Los Angeles court system. Zeus cofounders King Bach, Amanda Cerny and DeStorm Power filed a petition asking a judge to confirm the April 24, 2026 arbitration award and make it enforceable as a court judgment. That distinction matters: the repayment was ordered in arbitration, but the court-confirmation process is a separate step. The petition reportedly lists a combined amount of $13,779,781.25 when fees and interest are included. Baller Alert’s report on the arbitration award details the panel’s findings and the pending court petition.

Plummer has since issued a public response, calling the coverage “inaccurate and misleading.” He argues that the cofounders did not win a personal payday and that the broader allegations against him were not proven. The award, however, directs the $9.8 million repayment to Zeus itself, not to the three cofounders personally. Here is what the arbitration panel found, what Plummer says in response, and what still has to happen in court.

Why Lemuel Plummer Was Ordered to Repay $9.8 Million to Zeus

The arbitration began after King Bach, whose legal name is Andrew Bachelor, Amanda Cerny and DeStorm Power challenged Plummer’s management of the company and sought access to its financial records. Their dispute was submitted to the American Arbitration Association in October 2022 under the company’s operating agreement. A panel consisting of William D. Johnston, Stephen J. Kane and Glenn J. Waldman heard nine days of testimony in July and August 2025, according to the published account of the award.

One foundational issue was whether the three creators were actually members of Zeus. Plummer had argued in sworn responses that they were not members because they had not made required capital contributions. The arbitrators rejected that position. The panel pointed to the operating agreement, years of Plummer publicly describing them as cofounders or partners, a 2021 interview in which he acknowledged their equity, and tax forms Zeus issued to them as members from 2018 through 2021. The panel ruled in December 2025 that all three remained members of the company.

The largest repayment category involved money sent to third parties through PayPal, Cash App, Venmo, Apple Cash and Zelle. Zeus reportedly transferred approximately $3.6 million through those services, but Plummer’s own expert was able to identify supporting paperwork for only $131,666. The panel ordered repayment of $3,467,000 in that category.

Cash withdrawals were another major issue. The award reportedly identified $1,997,867 in company cash withdrawals, with records supporting only $23,700. The panel ordered Plummer to repay the remaining $1,974,167. The award also noted that Zeus had one checking account and one debit card, and that Plummer was the only person authorized to use the card or sign company checks.

The arbitrators also found that Plummer received compensation beyond the salary range he had initially discussed with his partners. He had proposed a salary of roughly $200,000 to $300,000 per year. The panel found that he paid himself an additional $1,436,000 without the discussion and approval required under the operating agreement.

Other amounts included $770,222 paid by Zeus to L Plummer Media, a company Plummer owns; $1,006,933 in reimbursements paid directly to him; and $547,515 in repayments on an alleged loan from L Plummer Media. The panel reportedly found that loan documentation had not been produced. Those findings formed part of the overall $9,826,837 repayment order.

One of the most attention-grabbing findings involved $625,000 sent to COGIC Israel, a church led by Plummer’s father. According to the report, Jason Tolbert, who later became Zeus president, supported the payments but testified that they had no business purpose. The arbitrators characterized the transfers as a misappropriation of company funds.

The $625,000 Church Transfers, Cofounder Dispute and Plummer’s Response

Plummer’s public response adds another layer to the dispute. In a six-slide statement reportedly posted to his Instagram account and the Zeus Network’s page, he called the public narrative “inaccurate and misleading.” He emphasized that the cofounders received only $1 each in personal damages, argued that the nearly $60 million in alleged misappropriation they initially asserted did not prevail, and said the arbitration did not establish theft, fraud or money laundering.

That response addresses a point that can easily be misunderstood. The $9.8 million is not a personal award to King Bach, Cerny and Power. Their principal claims were brought on behalf of Zeus, so the repayment is directed to the company. Plummer’s statement focuses on the cofounders’ personal damages, while the arbitration award separately requires money to be returned to the business. Those are two different parts of the ruling.

Plummer also has a legitimate point about the scale of the original allegations: the cofounders accused him of misappropriating approximately $56 million, but the panel awarded roughly $9.8 million. The arbitrators approved substantial spending that had been challenged, including more than $10 million paid to a travel company, nearly $3 million for ground transportation, $2.75 million for private jets, $1.76 million for security, $664,000 in Super Bowl tickets and a $420,000 production-house lease.

The panel’s findings were not that every disputed expense was improper. The published account says the arbitrators described Zeus’ recordkeeping as “woefully deficient,” but also concluded there was insufficient evidence of actual theft for much of the remaining challenged spending. That distinction is important when assessing Plummer’s response: the panel did not accept the entire $56 million claim, but it did order a substantial repayment based on specific transactions and compensation findings.

The panel also addressed the cofounders’ access to information. Their side reportedly made more than 20 requests for financial records. During arbitration, Zeus agreed to produce documentation for 2,857 transactions but supplied records for only 525. The arbitrators cited repeated discovery failures and bad faith on several claims when deciding to shift a significant portion of the legal costs to Plummer.

Plummer’s counterclaim was also rejected. He had sought approximately $10.9 million from the cofounders, arguing that a March 2025 video by DeStorm Power titled “Truth About Zeus Networks” was defamatory and caused subscriber losses. The panel did not decide whether the video was defamatory; it denied the claim because Plummer did not prove that the video caused the losses he alleged.

For readers who want to compare the two positions, Baller Alert’s coverage of Plummer’s six-slide statement summarizes his arguments alongside the arbitration findings. The statement is Plummer’s position, not a court ruling overturning the award.

What Happens Next in the Zeus Network Arbitration Case?

The next major step is the Los Angeles Superior Court’s review of the cofounders’ petition to confirm the arbitration award. The petition was reportedly filed on September 29, 2026, and is pending before Judge Rupert A. Byrdsong at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. A request to confirm an arbitration award is not the same thing as a judge having already entered a final court judgment.

The petition reportedly places the total at $13,779,781.25. That figure includes the $9,826,837 repayment to Zeus, approximately $1.74 million in attorneys’ fees and costs owed personally to the cofounders, and 8.25% annual interest on the damages dating back to October 2022. The award also reportedly requires Plummer to reimburse Zeus for legal expenses the company paid to defend him and cover 75% of the arbitration costs.

Beyond the financial award, the panel reportedly ordered Plummer to maintain accurate company books, provide the cofounders access to financial records, deliver quarterly financial statements and resume distributions. The arbitrators also found that Zeus had not filed tax returns for several years and assigned Plummer personal responsibility for any resulting IRS fines, penalties or interest. Those findings could have consequences beyond the immediate repayment dispute.

There is also a significant business context. Zeus launched in 2018 as an independent subscription streaming platform built around creator-driven programming. The arbitration award, as described in the reporting, states that the company had more than 2 million subscribers and generated approximately $115.3 million in gross revenue in 2024. Those figures come from the award and have not been independently confirmed through public company financial statements. Zeus is privately held, and Plummer has disputed the revenue and subscriber figures cited in the case.

For now, the clearest takeaway is that the arbitration panel found specific financial transactions and compensation payments that required repayment, while rejecting much of the broader spending challenge for lack of sufficient proof. Plummer disputes the public characterization of the outcome, but his statement does not itself cancel the award. The Los Angeles court’s decision on the confirmation petition will determine whether the award becomes enforceable as a court judgment.

Bottom line: the Zeus Network dispute is not simply a story about three cofounders receiving money. The central question is whether the company can recover nearly $9.83 million under the arbitration award, and whether the court will confirm the additional fees and interest. Until the court rules, the award and the pending petition should be described separately from a final court judgment.

Sources and further reading: Baller Alert: Arbitration award and court petition · Baller Alert: Plummer’s public response · Forbes: Background on Plummer and Zeus Network · Los Angeles Superior Court public case access.