Which is probably why the strip club didn't put the charge as "$9,000 for cocaine off of a stripper's ass" and instead charged it as "service fees". And then videotaped him authorizing the charges after having his high ass calling the cc company authorizing the charges (he mentions this in the comments).

Soooo... prove your statement in a court of law against the credit card company that fronted him the money to conduct his illegal activity that he know owes money to.

The cc company is covered on their end with plausible deniability, especially since none of them were there. And they're not the ones who paid for titties or drugs, so guess what? That falls to OP. He charged it.

But let's pretend the cc company doesn't pay out because what he did was illegal. How does that cancel out the debt to the strip club owners? And are these the kind of guys who'll sue or break your legs to get their money?