Amid mounting lawsuits and claims of financial fraud, Svein Dyrkolbotn, the owner of Viking Companies and the primary developer of Celebration Pointe, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, records on file with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida show.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows individuals or businesses to regain control of their finances by having most of their unsecured debt, such as credit cards and personal loans, legally discharged through the courts.
Dyrkolbotn, according to court documents, estimates he owes between $100 million and $500 million to between 100 and 199 creditors. His estimated total assets are listed between $1 million and $10 million.
Dyrkolbotn is being represented by Kenneth D. Herron Jr. of Orlando-based Herron Hill Law Group PLLC.
Herron declined to comment when reached by The Sun on Oct. 22.
Dyrkolbotn’s filing comes about a year and half after Celebration Pointe Holdings LLC and Celebration Point Holdings II LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with creditors holding an combined unsecure claim of more than $200 million.
Following that bankruptcy filing, lawsuits from various lenders began to pour in beginning in May 2024.
Mainstreet Community Bank of Florida filed a complaint against The Vue At Celebration Pointe LLC, which included Dyrkolbotn and others as defendants. The Vue is a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom townhomes with a starting price of more than $400,000.
The lawsuit, filed May 30, stems from a $5.9 million loan executed on April 13, 2018. It alleges that the defendants failed to make payments from March to July 2024, failed to comply with the financial reporting provisions of the loan, and failed to comply at times with both the minimum and maximum liquidity provisions of the loan.
Prior to Dyrkolbotn’s latest bankruptcy filing, a hearing in The Vue lawsuit was scheduled for Feb. 18, 2026. It’s unclear if that hearing will not be held.
Mainstreet Community Bank in April 2025 also filed a lawsuit against 43rd Street Hotel Partners LLC, Dyrkolbotn and others after failing to make payments from April to June 2024. As of April 29, 2025, the alleged unpaid balances to the plaintiffs included $9 million in principal, $176,000 in accrued interest, and another $172,000 in post-dafault interest.
A judge granted a final judgment of forclosure on Oct. 21, 2025.
The case remains open due to a counterclaim filed by Celebration Pointe investor Patricia Shively, who along with Dyrkolbotn is named in numerous lawsuits related to the development.
Shively has claimed in her own lawsuit against Dyrkolbotn, wealth management firm Koss Olinger and Company LLC and its partners. that she was “manipulated” into personally guaranteeing more than $300 million in loans to keep the “failing real estate project” afloat.
A motion to dismiss Shively’s suit was filed July 29 by Fort Lauderdale-based attorney Edward F. Holodak on behalf of Viking Companies and Dyrkolbotn.
It notes that the complaint is filled with “frivolous, impertinent, scandalous, and conclusionary statements…” The judge has yet to rule on that motion.
Another recent court filing on Aug. 21 by Millenium Bank against SDPS Real Estate Investments VII LLC that includes Dyrkolbotn alleges that a $4.5 million “Parking Garage Note” is in default due to a missed payment on April 19, 2025, and all months after.
And on Sept. 19, 2025, VyStar Credit Union alleged in a lawsuit against Celebration Pointe Office Partners II LLC, Viking Companies and others that it is owned more than $14 million in principal and interest due to a default on a CPOP Note.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: As lawsuits mount, owner of Celebration Pointe in Gainesville files for bankruptcy
Reporting by Alan Festo, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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