The Jerome Karam lawsuits fall into two connected tracks: a sexual assault allegation by a former World Gym employee that produced dueling defamation and personal injury claims, and a growing pile of foreclosure and loan-default suits tied to roughly $25 million in unpaid debt across his Galveston County real estate holdings. Karam, a Friendswood, Texas developer and former personal injury attorney who runs JMK5 Holdings, LLC, has been the plaintiff in some of these cases and the defendant in others.
The Cryo-Chamber Assault Allegation
The most-covered case began with Ashlyn Moore, a former employee at a World Gym facility in Texas City owned by Karam. In a countersuit filed June 2, 2022, in Galveston County District Court, Moore alleged that on January 31, 2022, Karam led her to a cryo-chamber in a closed-off area of the gym, blocked her exit, and sexually assaulted her.1Yahoo News. Shocking Lawsuit Accuses Predatory Texas Mogul Jerome Mansour Karam of Cryo-Chamber Sex Assault She reported the incident to the Texas City Police Department the next morning. According to her filing, the department told her within a week that it would not pursue the case, and no criminal charges were filed.2Click2Houston. Lawsuit Accuses Galveston County Landowner of Being Sexual Predator
Moore’s filing was technically a counterclaim because Karam sued first. After she posted about the alleged assault on social media, he filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit against her on February 9, 2022, in the 405th Judicial District Court of Galveston County (Case No. 22-CV-0292). His petition called her accusations “heinous lies” and sought actual damages, punitive damages, and injunctive relief ordering the posts removed.3Galveston County Daily News. Original Petition for TRO, Karam v. Moore Moore’s countersuit, filed by attorney Cordt Akers of the Akers Firm, sought at least $1 million in damages and a jury trial. It also alleged that earlier complaints from other employees about unwanted touching and harassment had been ignored by Karam’s companies.4The Daily Beast. Shocking Lawsuit Accuses Predatory Texas Mogul Jerome Mansour Karam of Cryo-Chamber Sex Assault
The Defamation Suit Against Moore’s Attorneys
Karam and JMK5 Holdings also sued the lawyers who represented Moore, bringing defamation and civil conspiracy claims against the Akers Firm, Brock Akers, Cordt Akers, Daly & Black, P.C., and attorney Andrew Dao. The attorneys moved to dismiss under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, the state’s anti-SLAPP statute.
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston ruled for the attorneys on July 9, 2024. In a memorandum opinion by Justice Charles A. Spain in Case No. 14-23-00127-CV, the court held that Karam “did not even raise a scintilla of evidence” that the attorneys knew the statements they made to the media about their client’s case were false.5Law360. Houston Attorneys Escape Defamation Suit Over Sex Assault Case6Leagle. Jerome Karam and JMK5 Holdings, LLC v. The Akers Firm, PLLC, et al. Karam took the case to the Texas Supreme Court. On November 21, 2025, the court denied his motion for rehearing on petition for review in Case No. 24-0886, closing out that branch of the litigation.7Texas Courts. Texas Supreme Court Orders, November 21, 2025
Foreclosure Threats and Loan-Default Suits
Since May 2024, nine JMK5-owned properties have appeared on monthly foreclosure auction lists in Galveston County. Agreements have kept each auction from going through, but the underlying disputes remain active.8Galveston County Daily News. Friendswood Developer Faces Numerous Foreclosure Threats The properties tied up in these disputes include Mainland City Centre (the former Mall of the Mainland in Texas City), the historic Falstaff Brewery at 3302 Church Street in Galveston, the Marina Del Sol waterfront homes in Kemah, and the Kimley Cove subdivision on Galveston’s West End.
Several lenders are actively in court:
- Priority Investor Loans claims it is owed more than $220,000 tied to Mainland City Centre. In December 2024, Judge Jeth Jones of the 122nd District Court granted Karam an injunction blocking foreclosure, with a bench trial set for July 2026.
- PM Galveston Hotels Lender LLC sued in December 2024, alleging two JMK5 entities owe over $350,000 on loans connected to the Falstaff Brewery. Karam’s attorneys denied the claims in February 2025, and Judge Jared Robinson of the 405th District Court set a jury trial for December 2026.
- Silver Funding LLC has initiated foreclosure proceedings on the Marina Del Sol waterfront homes over an unpaid loan of roughly $550,000.
Karam has also gone on offense against a lender. In March 2024, he sued Prosperity Bank in the 56th District Court of Galveston County (Case No. 24-CV-0366), seeking an injunction to keep the bank from selling or taking possession of disputed property.9Trellis Law. Jerome Karam, et al. vs. Prosperity Bank, Original Petition for TRO
County records show the pattern is not new. Between 2017 and 2021, various JMK5 entities defaulted on approximately $25.9 million in loans. The largest single default was on a $9 million loan taken in April 2021 for improvements to the former Mall of the Mainland site.8Galveston County Daily News. Friendswood Developer Faces Numerous Foreclosure Threats
The Dickinson Bayou Bend Estates Dispute
A separate financial fight has drawn the City of Dickinson into the mix. Bayou Bend Estates is a 51-acre, 47-house subdivision built by Karam on a former country club property. Under a 2018 agreement, the city established a Public Improvement District and committed to paying JMK5 Holdings approximately $4.8 million between 2019 and 2039, funded by $300 monthly assessments on each homeowner, to reimburse the developer for infrastructure work.
In January 2025, lender Dickinson Leisure Industries alleged that Karam’s firm owed about $436,000 for debt service on a roughly $2.1 million infrastructure loan and threatened to sue the city. The Dickinson City Council voted unanimously in February 2025 to redirect the collected fees straight to the lender. City Attorney Nghiem Doan summarized the bind: “We have two parties fighting over money… Either one we pay, we stand to be sued.” Karam was described as “noncommittal” about the change.10Galveston County Daily News. Dickinson Seeks Cover in Lender’s Quest for $400K From Developer
The Gulf Greyhound Park Project
Karam’s biggest development bet has also become entangled in his financial troubles. In March 2022, he acquired the 88-acre former Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque with plans to convert it into a 12,000-seat indoor concert venue called the “JMK5 Arena,” managed under an agreement with Oak View Group. As of August 2024, Karam said the renovation was about 50 percent complete, and a foreclosure listing that briefly appeared for the property at the Galveston County Courthouse was attributed to a “misunderstanding” by an Alabama-based lender.11Houston Chronicle. Galveston Future Concert Venue Scare
By May 2026, construction had stopped, and Jerome and Leslie Karam no longer owned the property. The former parking lot is now being redeveloped into a 200,000-square-foot retail center called The Shops at La Marque.12Yahoo News. Retail Replacing Racing at One of the World’s Largest Greyhound Tracks