Zacks’ involvement, the suit argues, demonstrates how a long-time donor, who played a large role in MSU offering Tucker a pricey extension contract, sought to use his influence at MSU for “reputation management” and to develop a “media strategy” amid the internal probe into Tucker.

The suit names Ishbia and United Wholesale Mortgage as defendants. A spokesperson for UWM did not respond to a request for comment Monday evening.

“Donor-connected access and aligned counsel inserted themselves into a matter that was none of their business— treating Plaintiff not as a person whose privacy mattered, but as a problem to be managed once her complaint threatened Ishbia’s interests and investments tied to Tucker, the football program, and the Michigan State University brand,” the suit states. 

Tracy is seeking a jury trial and damages in excess of $25,000.

According to the suit, in 2022, Tucker’s attorney, Jennifer Beveal, had requested that communications pertaining to the investigation be sent to Zacks at his UWM company email. Following that request, “Zacks was included in all correspondence regarding the investigation, using his UWM email address.” (Beveal did not respond to a request for comment when reached by email Monday evening.)  

Tracy wrote that “UWM had no reason to be included in these communications, other than keeping Ishbia in the loop.”

Tracy did not become aware of Zacks’ involvement until Tucker designated him as his “support person” during the hearing phase of the investigation, around September 2023, according to the suit.

Tracy wrote that the involvement of Zacks, who died in 2024, was not done “without Ishbia’s intervention, authorization, or knowing approval.” The suit later argues that in inserting Zacks in the investigative process, “Ishbia became a willful participant in the underlying breach and is jointly liable under aiding-and-abetting and conspiracy principles.” 

Furthermore, the suit states that the outside investigation into whether someone within MSU leaked Tracy’s name to the press during the internal probe failed to interview Zacks or Ishbia, and therefore was not comprehensive.

It continues that a leak investigation that “does not examine the UWM-controlled systems where the communications resided is not a serious attempt to trace the leak pathway,” the suit states.

“We’re just looking for answers and we want to know why a donor’s General counsel was copied secretly on an investigation that was supposed to be confidential. And nobody said anything,” Tracy’s attorney, Karen Truszkowski wrote to The State News in a text message Monday evening. “There had to be a reason, and what was it?” 

Ishbia, one of MSU’s most prominent alumni, said he contributed $14 million to help the university offer Tucker a 10-year, $95 million contract extension in 2021.

This isn’t the first time that Tracy has alleged in court filings that Ishbia’s influence loomed over MSU’s investigation. In a September 2025 court filing in a separate lawsuit against the university, Tracy argued that the university official overseeing the investigation failing to disclose Zack’s involvement in the case “created, at minimum, the appearance of donor-driven influence and institutional bias.”