Judge orders Zapp to repay $3.3M.(Brief Article)

Ray Zapp, former Atlas Telecom chief executive and founder, has been ordered to pay more than $3.3 million to the estate of his former company because he failed to convince a judge that the money was used for business purposes.

"Zapp had a duty to account for funds that were advanced to him or for his benefit by the company," wrote U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Elizabeth Perris in her Oct. 4 ruling. "He failed to account."

That failure proved costly.

Zapp has been in court since may 1998, first to liquidate his company and then to battle charges of misuse of funds filed by the trustee. Perris' ruling follows hearings this summer which focused on expenditures made by Zapp that he couldn't document. (See related story, page 63.)

The judge ruled that the bankruptcy trustee overseeing what remains of Atlas is entitled to the …