(Bloomberg) -- Bondholders of struggling Dish Network Corp. sued the satellite-TV provider, demanding it unwind transfers that they said put valuable assets out of the hands of creditors and violated lending terms.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Musk Makes Surprise China Visit in Search of Tesla Revenue Boost

• Elliott Said to Have Built ‘Large’ Stake in Buffett-Favored Sumitomo

• Yen Watchers Ask When Japan Will Step In as Slide Accelerates

• Blade to Offer Luxury Bus Service to Hamptons at Fare Up to $275

• Southeast Asia Heat Wave Shuts Schools, Stokes Power Demand

“Through a brazen series of related transactions,” billions of dollars of assets were transferred from Dish and its subsidiary DBS, according to the lawsuit filed Friday. They were removed from the reach of existing creditors, in exchange for nothing, according to the complaint. “Through this action, plaintiffs now seek to recover those wrongfully acquired assets.”

A spokesperson for Dish, co-founded by billionaire Charlie Ergen, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dish, saddled with more than $20 billion of debt, has been searching for ways to address fast-approaching maturities as it tries to transition its business from pay-TV to wireless services. Ergen’s EchoStar Corp., the parent of Dish, in February scrapped a debt swap that would have provided some relief after bondholders pushed back on the deal.

In January, Dish announced that it was shuffling assets including valuable spectrum licenses into new unrestricted subsidiaries, a maneuver that is often a prelude to discussions for new financing.

Among the moves, it transferred a handful of wireless spectrum licenses into a new legal entity under EchoStar. Dish also said it freed from debt covenants a new unit holding 3 million television subscribers.

The case was filed by US Bank as trustee under certain Dish notes in New York Supreme Court.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• Modi Is $20 Trillion Short on His Grand Plan for India’s Economy

• Biden Strategy to Tame Gas Prices Is in Peril as Iran Sanctions Pressure Mounts

• Caught Between the US and China, a Powerful AI Upstart Chooses Sides

• US White-Collar Job Growth Stalls, Even in Pandemic Boomtowns

• How North Korea’s Man in the West Ran Afoul of US Authorities

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.