Riot Games declared today that Peter Zhang, a former TSM coach, has been permanently barred from participating in any League of Legends esports competitions.

Prior to losing his job at TSM in March, Zhang was charged with stealing money from players’ paychecks earlier this year. An internal investigation by TSM against Zhang supported these charges.

Riot and the LCS verified those results today, and Zhang was immediately barred from taking part in League tournaments that were sanctioned by Riot.

According to a statement released by Riot today, “Peter Zhang violated the LCS Rule Set as well as the LCS Eligibility and Release Agreement by diverting portions of player salaries to accounts belonging to Peter Zhang and his associates, by misleading and underpaying a former TSM player for the sale of the player’s car, and by soliciting loans from TSM players and staff.”

Zhang stole almost $250,000 from two players between December 2021 and February 2022; these players were thereafter to receive a “substantial percentage of their salary through a third-party organization in China,” according to Riot’s findings. Although a prior source suggested that one of the two players involved in these acts was former TSM support Yursan, their identities have remained a secret.

Zhang was discovered to have solicited cash from eight TSM players and employees in addition to stealing pay, according to Riot. Zhang was removed from his employment with the company the same day when TSM learned about his attempts to extort money from players.

To stop Peter Zhang from getting at least $20,000 more in loans, TSM immediately reversed any outstanding wire transactions after learning of Peter Zhang’s solicitation on March 18, 2022, according to a statement from Riot. “Around $4,500 has yet to be repaid to the gamers who lent Peter Zhang money.”

According to an initial report from Richard Lewis of Dexerto, one of the most well-documented claims made against Zhang earlier this year included his alleged agreement to sell a vehicle on behalf of former TSM supporter SwordArt without ever giving him the money. Despite the fact that Zhang received $80,000 for the automobile, according to Riot’s investigation, he only paid back $35,000 to SwordArt and the other $45,000 is still owed.

Zhang was given the opportunity by Riot to respond to these allegations with a statement, which he did, however it did not categorically exonerate him of any misconduct. According to Riot’s statement, Zhang “failed to produce any persuasive evidence disputing the correctness of the findings of the report supplied by TSM’s contracted third-party legal firm.”

Zhang has been permanently prohibited from taking part in official, Riot-sanctioned League esports tournaments as a result of his activities. He is not permitted to associate with any team participating in official leagues or contests throughout the world as of right now.

According to Section 14 of the LCS regulations, the LCS has the authority to fine league players who engage in behavior it regards to be “unfair play.” Section 14.2.10 of the LCS rulebook, a general provision that permits the league to punish anyone for disorderly behavior that “violates [the] regulations and/or the standards of integrity set by [the LCS] for competitive games,” was broken by Zhang.

Dot Esports has reached out to TSM for comment regarding this subject.