A Bronxville businessman who loaned money to the producer of a popular sports program — Game Time with Boomer Esiason — claims that the producer is trying to escape paying a $409,301 court judgment.
Gregory F. Holcombe petitioned Westchester Supreme Court on Aug. 19 to appoint a receiver to liquidate James L. Moskovitz’s production companies and to use the money to pay the court judgement plus $1 million in punitive damages.
“Yes, there is debt here,” Moskovitz, of Manhattan’s Upper West Side, acknowledged in a telephone interview, “and it has to be repaid.” He said he has tried to work with Holcombe to pay the debt, but instead Holcombe “wants to cause as much pain as possible.”
Game Time with Boomer Esiason has aired for 26 years and is about to begin its 27th season. Esiason, the former Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro NFL quarterback interviews sports personalities. The program is broadcast in every television market in the U.S., as well as in U.S. international territories, Canada and Northern Mexico, and is viewed in 1.8 million homes.
The dispute is over $375,000 that Moskovitz and his production company borrowed in 2022 and 2023. According to Holcombe, Moskovitz made a single, interest-only payment of $3,375, thus defaulting on the loan.
Holcombe sued, and last November Westchester Supreme Court Justice Linda S. Jamieson ordered Moskovitz and the production company to pay the debt plus interest, totaling $409,301.
The new lawsuit is based on Moscovitz’s failure to pay the court judgment and for allegedly transferring assets to another company with intent to defraud.
Game Time with Boomer Esiason had been produced by JOY-CPW, a corporation that Moskovitz founded in 2016 and is owned by Moskovitz and his wife, Joyce.
After the court judgment was issued against Moskovitz and JOY-CPW, Holcombe claims, Moskovitz ended production under JOY-CPW. He started a new version of the show almost immediately under JMJ Films, allegedly to evade the court judgment.
“He (Moskowitz) claimed that JMJ is producing ‘an entirely new show and concept,’ though it appears to be a continuation under a different name,” Holcombe’s attorney, Stephen J. Brown stated in a July 10 letter to Judge Jamieson.
The new lawsuit also cites a 2024 bankruptcy case filed by Joyce Moskowitz, who with her husband had personally guaranteed the original loan. She declared that her 50% ownership of JOY- CPW was worth $7.5 million.
She disclosed on May 2 that JOY-CPW was adding broadcast outlets, was projecting more than $5 million in revenues for the next five years, and she would fund her bankruptcy reorganization plan “through continuing operations,” according to Holcomb’s lawsuit.
James Moskovitz said no assets have been transferred and he described his actions as standard business practices. “In no way was I trying to walk away from an obligation, but it wasn’t possible to do a new show under the confines he (Holcombe) was creating.”
He said his legal could have covered a large part of the debt. But “he’s on a rampage to do everything possible to hurt us.”
Holcombe is asking the court to declare that Moskovitz committed fraud, annul any transfer of assets from JOY-CPW to JMJ Films, and appoint a receiver to liquidate corporate assets to satisfy the previous $409,301 court judgment.
