Omnis Pleasants owners fight to wrest control of Pleasants Power Station
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CHARLESTON - The company that bought the former Pleasants Power Plant three years ago argues it remains in control, accusing the current management team connected to motivational speaker Tony Robbins of engaging in an unauthorized bankruptcy.
Attorneys with Omnis Fuel Technologies, the company founded by Simon Hodson, filed a motion Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to dismiss the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last month by Omnis Pleasants LLC or appoint a trustee to oversee the bankruptcy reorganization.
In its court filing, attorneys for Omnis Fuel Technologies argue the bankruptcy was filed in bad faith as a tactical maneuver to obstruct their governance rights after a failed state court injunction.
"The Movants submit this Motion to set the record straight and right the many wrongs that have been committed against them and the Debtor," wrote Omnis Fuel Technologies attorney Christopher A. Ward. "The Debtor's professionals have done a phenomenal job of confusing the issues in this case, but this Motion cuts through that confusion and presents the facts the Court needs to grant the relief requested."
Omnis Pleasants filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 26, citing a need to restructure its operations, resolve pending litigation and governance disputes, and prepare the plant for a possible sale. Omni Pleasants has more than $79 million in debt.
However, Omnis Fuel Technologies argues the power plant is financially healthy and profitable, with no genuine distress to justify the bankruptcy filing.
"It is now black letter law ... that financial distress is a prerequisite to any good faith bankruptcy filing. But, here, the Debtor was not in any genuine financial distress as of the Petition Date," Ward wrote. "To the contrary, the Debtor is cash-flow positive, held approximately $13 million in unencumbered cash on the Petition Date, and is projected to generate well over $100 million in annual capacity revenue for each of the next several years - more than double its annual operating expenses."
According to a now-redacted filing, Omnis Pleasants has more than 600 creditors. The largest of these include the West Virginia Economic Development Authority for a $50 million loan granted in 2024 at 1% interest for a 30-month term which ended June 15. The total owed to the state by Omnis Pleasants is $50.8 million. The second largest creditor, at $20 million, was Bilt Technology LLC, which designs and builds modular data centers.
Ward argued that neither the EDA nor Bilt Technology took any kind of action prior to the bankruptcy filing to seek repayment. He said the only pressure being brought to bear is coming from TRAG LLC and RG Energy, both connected to motivational speaker and investor Tony Robbins.
According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, Robbins has invested $200 million in the former Pleasants Power Plant project. Friday's court filings show that three companies connected to Omnis Fuel Technologies - Omnis Global, Omnis Energy and Quantum Pleasants - owe TRAG LLC/RG Energy $54 million.
In a declaration filed Friday along with the motion to dismiss, Omnis Fuel Technologies President Charles Gassenheimer said Robbins had agreed to raise $306 million for a 4.5% stake in Omnis Energy, with only $54 million advanced as short-term fully secured debt.
"Mr. Robbins has publicly claimed that he invested $200 million in the various Omnis entities. However, only $54 million was actually advanced" Gassenheimer wrote.
In previous court documents, Omnis Pleasants CEO David Hindman accused Hodson and Omnis Fuel Technologies of engaging in gross misconduct, including the diversion of millions in state-funded loans and the pursuit of speculative hydrogen and cryptocurrency ventures that starved the facility of capital.
Omnis Fuel Technologies purchased the Pleasants Power Plant from Texas-based ETEM in 2023, saving the plant from demolition. The 1,278-megawatt coal-fired power plant was to be retrofitted to run on hydrogen produced through Hodson's "quantum reformer" technology, burning coal at high temperatures to extract hydrogen for the power plant and graphite to be sold to various manufacturers.
According to Hindman, the quantum reformer project was used as a platform to raise money from investors by misrepresenting its capabilities. Since February, the previous management of Omnis Pleasants, including Omnis Fuel Technologies' Hodson and Randall Smith, had been replaced by Hindman as CEO and Gilbert Nathan as director and independent manager.
Omnis Pleasants operates independently from Omnis Fuel Technologies, though Omnis Fuel retains minority ownership, 43%, in the former Pleasants Power Plant. Gassenheimer said the company maintains 100% of the voting interests in Omnis Pleasants.
According to Gassenheimer, the current Omnis Pleasants management team refused an offer by Omnis Fuel Technologies to pay in full all outstanding debt to regain control of the plant. Attorneys with Omnis Fuel Technologies filed a lawsuit against Omnis Pleasants on July 8 in Pleasants County Circuit Court.
"Improperly, but predictably, Mr. Nathan refused to approve the transaction, incorrectly characterizing it as a 'related-party transaction' requiring his consent," Gassenheimer wrote. "TRAG and RGE refused to accept the check."
Gassenheimer said when Circuit Court Judge Tim Sweeney issued an order denying a motion for a temporary restraining order sought by TRAG and RG Energy to maintain Hindman and Nathan as Omnis Pleasants' management team, Omnis Pleasants filed for bankruptcy.
"On Sunday, July 26, 2026 ... less than one business day after the West Virginia Court denied the TRAG/RGE (temporary restraining order) motion - the Debtor filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code with this Court," Gassenheimer wrote. "However, Quantum, through Mr. Hodson as the 'Omnis Director,' never consented to, authorized, or approved the Debtor's bankruptcy filing."
The 1,278-megawatt coal-fired power plant employs approximately 140 people as well as thousands of temporary union workers during its maintenance periods. Pleasants Power serves as a merchant power plant, generating electricity exclusively for PJM Interconnection, the wholesale energy transmission company serving West Virginia, 12 other states and Washington, D.C.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.