A Colorado court has ordered the former president of the state’s amateur hockey association to pay the organization $544,189 after finding him liable for civil theft, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, Colorado District Court Judge Chantel Contiguglia also rejected a separate defamation claim filed by Randy Kanai—who led the Colorado Amateur Hockey Association from 2010 to 2023—against Bryan Smith, his successor as CAHA president. The judge found that Smith’s remarks during board meetings, in which he accused Kanai of impropriety, did not constitute defamation, in part because they were based on “substantial truth.”

The court decision marks the end of a long and contentious chapter for the USA Hockey affiliate organization, which Sportico has previously documented. Judge Contiguglia’s order comes six months after CAHA presented its case against Kanai over a two-day bench trial in April. The proceedings included testimony from USA Hockey general counsel Casey Jorgensen and Peter Schaffer, the Denver-based pro sports agent who stirred controversy while serving as CAHA’s “volunteer” legal counsel during Kanai’s tenure.

Kanai and his attorney did not respond to emails seeking comment on the ruling or if they planned to appeal. CAHA issued a statement saying that the outcome had held Kanai “accountable for his improper conduct.”

Kanai was voted out as president in the summer of 2023. Subsequently, the new CAHA board, led by Smith, filed suit, alleging that he had diverted hundreds of thousands of organization funds through his own companies and to cover his personal expenses.

In 2021, according to court records, Kanai began operating CAHA-sponsored events through his company, International Sports Event Management (ISEM), through which he also managed three Team Colors girls’ hockey squads, a USA Hockey-sanctioned national tournament and a sports testing combine. The court found that the registration fees for these events were funneled through ISEM, which eventually held more than $1 million of CAHA money in its bank accounts. Additionally, ISEM received nearly $80,000 in apparel sales rebates from a vendor, Northwest Designs.

Kanai was found to have transferred $181,396.58 of those funds into his personal bank without authorization or disclosure to the CAHA board, using that money for personal expenses. Another $180,000 from ISEM’s account was transferred to the personal account of Jason Schofield, a former Colorado Avalanche employee who served on the CAHA executive committee with Kanai. Schofield, who was not named in the lawsuit, publicly defended Kanai in an interview with Sportico earlier this year.

In the end, the court found that these conveyances by Kanai were illicit but rejected CAHA’s unjust enrichment claim regarding his use of complimentary Avalanche tickets without reimbursing the nonprofit.

Although Kanai once claimed he never sought to personally profit from CAHA activities, the court noted he contradicted that claim during trial when he testified he believed he was entitled to the payments due to his personal efforts.

In finding for CAHA, the court awarded $181,396.58 in actual damages, plus treble damages, bringing the total award to over a half-million dollars.