Miss America Corporate Filings Were Fabricated, Judge Rules (1)

Real estate developer Glenn Straub and his lawyer created fraudulent operating agreements and meeting minutes to gain an advantage in an ownership fight over the Miss America beauty pageant, a federal judge ruled.

Straub and attorney Craig T. Galle, a Wellington, Fla.-based practitioner, used fabricated corporate documents in up to four different courts as part of a dispute with Miss America director Robin Fleming over who owns the enterprise, Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks of the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled Monday.

Straub and Galle “compounded their bad faith by testifying falsely and with purposeful evasion” in an evidentiary hearing earlier this year, Middlebrooks said. He granted sanctions that bar the pair from bringing counterclaims against Fleming and requiring them to cover her legal fees and expenses.

“The fabrications are willful and egregious, constitute fraud upon the court, and no alternative to dismissal of the counterclaim with prejudice would be sufficient,” the judge said. “Since some of the conduct occurred prior to any litigation in the federal courts, inherent authority is necessary to vindicate judicial authority and emphasize that this kind of fraud on the court cannot be tolerated.”

“We and Ms. Fleming are most gratified by the Court’s ruling and that justice has been served in this important case,” Fleming’s attorney, Benjamin Chew of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, said in an email.

Galle didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Straub and Galle had been represented by attorneys from Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine PL, but the firm received court approval to withdraw from the role on Tuesday.

Fleming and several Miss America-related entities that she owns filed a complaint against Straub and others in December 2024, seeking $500 million in damages for perpetrating “a fraud monstrous in scope and harm.”

Fleming said she is the rightful owner and CEO of all the Miss America entities, but Straub and his affiliates “engaged in racketeering activity under the acts, to include extortion and wire fraud, to wrest control of Miss America.”

The complaint was filed shortly after Straub, claiming operational control over the Miss America business, put the company into bankruptcy. The Chapter 11 case lasted only a few weeks, being dismissed after Straub said a $4 million debt had been paid.

In his order Monday, Middlebrooks said the bankruptcy “hinged entirely upon the fraudulent documents.”

“As a result, all fees incurred for the bankruptcy filing were caused solely by the fraudulent and unethical conduct and are recoverable,” he said.

Fleming is also represented by Moore & Lee PC.

The case is Fleming v. Straub, S.D. Fla., No. 24-81507, Order 3/9/26.