Atilis Gym in Bellmawr must pay nearly $124,000 in fines for defying COVID restrictions, appeals court rules

A New Jersey appeals court on Wednesday sided with the state and affirmed a lower-court order that the Bellmawr-based Atilis Gym, whose owners made national headlines by defying Gov. Phil Murphy’s business-closure orders during the pandemic, must pay nearly $124,000 in fines for refusing to shut down.

The 38-page decision by the appellate division of New Jersey Superior Court said that “while an individual or entity subject to an agency order may seek review of that order in the Appellate Division, absent a stay or reversal of the order by this court, parties are ‘not free to ignore’ the order.”

The appellate court, citing prior legal rulings, said that Murphy’s executive orders restricting the operation of gyms during the pandemic were constitutional.

The appeals court also ruled that the $123,982.08 in fines — covering eight days of violations — were appropriate, citing the lower court’s decision to consider money raised from a GoFundMe campaign for Atilis Gym that was launched in 2020.

“Had it considered only the membership fees, Atilis would have been left with a large stockpile of money to fund future non-compliance,” according to the decision.

The gym’s GoFundMe page shows that a total of $530,390 was raised.

Dalya Ewais, spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Health, said in a statement: “The opinion speaks for itself. The Department continues to serve its mission of protecting the public’s health and promoting healthy communities in New Jersey.”

In May 2020, riding a wave of publicity from several Fox News appearances and support from Atilis members, the owners — Frank Trumbetti and Ian Smith — opened the gym. They were later held in contempt of court after a Superior Court judge in Camden ruled that Atilis needed to comply with an executive order by Murphy that limited indoor gym use to individual training sessions.

What followed was a drawn-out and costly legal fight not only with the state but with local authorities.

Trumbetti, now the sole owner of Atilis Gym, said in a phone interview Wednesday that he needed to talk to his lawyer about his legal options going forward.

Still, Trumbetti denounced the appellate decision.

“I think it’s a joke at this point,” Trumbetti said, noting that it has been almost three years since Murphy first issued an executive order to shut down “non-essential” businesses at the beginning of the pandemic.

“I’m fighting for our constitutional rights and our freedoms,” Trumbetti said.

Despite all the money raised from the GoFundMe, Trumbetti said he was “absolutely not” in a position to pay the fines, saying the gym is now surviving on membership dues and sales of T-shirts.

Trumbetti said the state has already seized $173,000 and then an additional $39,000.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office said that the state has collected a total of $174,457.92, which was applied to two court judgments: $134,463.08 was used to satisfy the first court order and the remaining $39,994.84 was used to partially satisfy the second order. A balance of $83,987.24 on the second judgment remains uncollected, the spokesperson said.

On top of his legal troubles, Trumbetti said he had a falling-out with Smith and had to buy his ownership portion of the gym last year.

In an email, Smith confirmed he sold his ownership interest to Trumbetti. Smith also denounced the appellate court’s ruling.

“I am not surprised that the appeal was lost — the NJ courts are a sham and have shown many times that they’ll throw out rights and laws in favor of executive orders and bogus state of emergency declarations,” Smith wrote.

“For me, the biggest victory has already been won,” Smith added. “Murphy tried to shut down our gym and the gym stayed open. Nothing he tried worked.”