A Women’s Pro Baseball League board member says the organization has failed to adequately respond to her requests for records, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest and misuse of company funds amid “mounting red flags.”
Mina Kim, a member of the WPBL board of directors, says she has “repeatedly and in good faith” attempted to obtain the information she seeks without dragging the matter into court. But she was ultimately forced to file a books and records request in Delaware’s Chancery court due to “improper stonewalling” by the WPBL and its CEO, Keith Stein. The action was first filed confidentially in Delaware’s Chancery Court on July 13 after the league’s response to Kim’s request for 19 categories of books and records on June 12 was insufficient.
In a pre-trial opening brief filed Monday, Kim says that while the WPBL has “produced some responsive material,” it has not sufficiently fulfilled the records request and has indicated it’s “done” producing information. Under Delaware law, a director’s right to inspect books and records is “essentially unfettered,” the filing notes.
Kim claims there are financial discrepancies that necessitate investigation, including a roughly $59,500 transfer to Ankeiste Ltd., an entity the filing says is owned by Stein and his wife. The WPBL initially described that transfer as “reimbursement” for startup-related expenses, but later recharacterized it —“after the fact and without board approval”—as a loan receivable. “WPBL has since admitted that no board approval was obtained and no loan documentation exists,” the filing says.
