We've lost the money; we're going to move on.
In Singapore, twenty investors who entrusted their savings to a lending firm led by a former national ice hockey player now find themselves caught between a court system that ruled in their favor and a bankruptcy process that may render that ruling nearly worthless. James Kodrowski, who represented Singapore at the 2025 SEA Games, built an eight-year architecture of apparent legitimacy — sports credentials, polished prospectuses, punctual interest payments — before the structure collapsed and S$9 million went silent. The case illuminates a quiet cruelty at the intersection of law and finance: a judgment won is not always a judgment collected, and the machinery designed to protect debtors can leave creditors holding paper where money once was.
- Twenty investors collectively lost S$9 million after Right Choice Capital stopped honoring repayment agreements in 2024, years after promising — and initially delivering — 16% annual returns.
- One investor won a High Court judgment for nearly S$800,000, only to see it rendered effectively unenforceable days later when Kodrowski was placed under a bankruptcy order that froze all individual creditor action.
- Legal experts warn that if Kodrowski's realisable assets fall far short of total debts, creditors may recover only cents on the dollar after trustee fees — turning a court victory into a symbolic one.
- Police are investigating a pattern of alleged fraud spanning eight years and three countries, with fabricated financials, phantom partnerships, and fictitious regulatory approvals at the center of the allegations.
- Kodrowski remains publicly active online — posting on sports governance as recently as June 9 — while being unreachable by journalists, creditors, and a debt recovery agency that found him gone from his Sentosa Cove address.
Robert is a careful investor. When James Nicholas Kodrowski — a Singapore-based director who had represented the Republic in ice hockey at the 2025 SEA Games — introduced him to Right Choice Capital in 2018, the pitch was persuasive: small business lending, consumer loans, remittance services, a company with over 100 employees and more than US$22 million from private investors. Robert committed S$850,000 between 2018 and the early 2020s. For years, interest payments arrived on schedule. Then in 2024, when he asked for his principal back, the company went silent.
Robert was not alone. Nineteen other investors had collectively placed S$9 million into RCC under the same terms and faced the same wall of unresponsiveness. In September 2025, the High Court sided with Robert and ordered RCC to repay him close to S$800,000 plus interest. It should have been a turning point. But within days, Kodrowski appeared on a bankruptcy order list, and the judgment became nearly impossible to enforce.
The arithmetic of creditor recovery is unforgiving. A statutory moratorium triggered by the bankruptcy order prevents any individual creditor from seizing assets or garnishing accounts — only an official assignee or private trustee can act. As one insolvency lawyer explained, if total debts reach S$9 million but realisable assets amount to only a fraction of that, even a creditor holding an S$800,000 court award will likely recover cents on the dollar, after fees.
A debt recovery agency took on the case for 20 investors who had signed agreements with Kodrowski and his associates between 2016 and 2025. They went to his Sentosa Cove condominium. He was no longer there. In court filings, Kodrowski had claimed he needed time to collect money from other investors to repay creditors — an argument the court rejected. The investors' police report alleged a sustained pattern of false representations: fabricated businesses, inflated financial statements, fictitious regulatory approvals, and phantom corporate partnerships, delivered over eight years through pitch decks, newsletters, and in-person meetings.
Kodrowski remains listed as director of 15 active companies and maintains a personal website describing him as an accomplished business leader. As recently as June 9, he posted publicly on sports governance. Journalists who called his mobile phone and visited the RCC office in Bukit Merah received no response. The Singapore Police Force confirmed an active investigation. The full scope of potential victims — spanning Singapore, the United States, and the Philippines — remains unknown.
Robert is a careful investor. When someone introduced him to an investment company promising 16 percent annual returns in 2018, he approached it with skepticism. But the pitch came from James Nicholas Kodrowski, a Singapore-based director who had represented the Republic in ice hockey at the 2025 SEA Games in Bangkok. Kodrowski spoke about Right Choice Capital as a legitimate financial services operation—small business lending, consumer loans, remittance services, payment systems. The prospectus looked solid. The company had started small in the Philippines, grown across the country and into Singapore, employed over 100 people, and had attracted more than US$22 million from private investors. Robert, a Singapore permanent resident, committed S$850,000 to RCC between 2018 and the early 2020s. For years, he received interest payments on schedule. Then in 2024, when he asked for his principal back, the company stopped honoring the agreement.
Robert was not alone. He discovered 19 other investors who had collectively poured S$9 million into RCC under the same terms and faced the same wall of silence. In September 2025, the High Court sided with Robert and ordered RCC to pay him close to S$800,000 plus interest. It should have been a victory. But about a week later, Kodrowski was placed on a bankruptcy order list. The S$9 million never materialized.
What happened next reveals the brutal mathematics of creditor recovery. Once a bankruptcy order is issued, a statutory moratorium takes effect. No individual creditor can continue enforcement action. No asset seizure, no bank account garnishment, no writs of sale. Only an official assignee or private trustee can manage the debtor's remaining assets. Andy Yeo, a lawyer who specializes in insolvency, laid out the arithmetic plainly: if Kodrowski owes S$9 million total but has only S$500,000 in realisable assets, even the creditor who won an S$800,000 judgment will recover a fraction of what the court awarded—likely cents on the dollar, after trustee fees are deducted.
Robert described years of frustration. Kodrowski would disappear for days, claiming he was overseas handling his mother's medical needs. When Robert presented the court order to the other 19 investors, some wanted to pursue recovery. Many simply gave up. "We've lost the money; we're going to move on," Robert recalled them saying. A debt recovery agency called JMS Rogers took on the case for 20 foreigners who had signed loan agreements with Kodrowski and his associates between 2016 and 2025. They tried to locate him at his Sentosa Cove condominium. He was no longer there. In his High Court filing, Kodrowski had claimed he needed time to collect money from other investors to repay the creditors. The court rejected that argument. The investors' report to police alleged a sustained pattern of false representations over eight years: fabricated businesses, inflated financial statements, fictitious regulatory approvals, phantom corporate partnerships. All delivered through investment memoranda, quarterly newsletters, pitch decks, and in-person meetings.
Kodrowski remains difficult to reach. Business registry checks show he is still listed as director of 15 active companies, including RCC, Right Choice Kapital, and Right Choice Payments. Eleven others are food and beverage businesses. A website bearing his name remains active, describing him as an accomplished business leader and operational strategist based in Singapore. On June 9, he posted an article on sports governance and leadership. The Straits Times called his mobile phone and visited the RCC office in Bukit Merah without success. An email went unanswered. The Singapore Police Force confirmed they are investigating. The investors' report suggests there may be additional victims in the United States, Singapore, and the Philippines—a scope that remains unknown.
Notable Quotes
If the debtor owes S$9 million in total and has only S$500,000 in realisable assets, even the judgment creditor who won the S$800,000 claim will get a fraction of what the court awarded—likely cents on the dollar, and after trustee fees.— Andy Yeo, lawyer specializing in insolvency
Some of them were happy to tag along to recover some money, if possible. But a lot of them just said, we don't want to care any more. We've lost the money; we're going to move on.— Robert, investor
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How does someone like Kodrowski—an athlete, a director of multiple companies—convince 20 people to hand over S$9 million?
The 16 percent return was the hook, but the real credibility came from him. He was a SEA Games player. He had a Singapore address, a professional title, a company with a website and a story about growth across two countries. That's enough to pass the smell test for most investors.
And the court ruled in their favor. So why do they still have nothing?
Because bankruptcy law protects the debtor, not the creditor. Once he filed for bankruptcy, the court's judgment became almost meaningless. His assets get pooled and distributed to all creditors proportionally. If he owes S$9 million and has S$500,000, everyone gets roughly five cents on the dollar.
Did he disappear intentionally, or was he genuinely unable to pay?
That's the question no one can answer now. He claimed he was overseas handling his mother's medical needs. He said he was collecting money from other investors to repay them. The court didn't believe him. But whether it was deception or desperation, the result is the same for the 20 people who lost their money.
What strikes you most about this case?
That some of the investors just gave up. They said, 'We've lost the money; we're going to move on.' After years of false promises and court battles, they couldn't bear to keep fighting. That's the real cost—not just the money, but the exhaustion.
Is Kodrowski still operating?
Technically, yes. He's still listed as director of 15 companies. He's still posting on his website about business leadership. But he's unreachable. Whether he's building something new or simply hiding is unclear.