A pair of multifamily traders are suing Jona Rechnitz, the former investment manager for champion boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., alleging that he has been defaming them and injuring their enterprise.
Josh Gotlib and Meyer Orbach allege that Rechnitz, who in 2016 pleaded responsible to wire fraud, has been sending defamatory feedback to colleagues, regulators, synagogue officers and reporters, all within the service of getting a payout.
“It is a calculated cash seize,” attorneys for Gotlib and Orbach wrote within the grievance. “Rechnitz has sought to fabricate disruption to Plaintiffs’ ongoing enterprise and use that disruption to harass and extort Plaintiffs into paying him.”
Reached for remark, Rechnitz mentioned his communications have been authorized and a part of his pursuit of what traders are owed. The lawsuit was first reported in The Promote.
Mayweather’s Vada Properties invested about $32 million with Gotlib and Orbach’s affiliated multifamily portfolios in 2024, together with GO Residential REIT and others run by Black Spruce Administration. A agency linked to Rechnitz, referred to as Frist Apex, was entitled to twenty p.c of the distributions from that funding.
The authorized blowup began when Mayweather sued Rechnitz in May, alleging that he had diverted $175 million in funds from him, together with by giving Frist Apex the 20 p.c minimize of distributions from the multifamily portfolios.
Black Spruce tried to provide the contested 20 p.c to the courtroom to carry and work out whereas Rechnitz and Mayweather labored on their dispute.
Rechnitz and Frist Apex have pushed again, saying that Black Spruce is solely stalling and will give the 20 p.c to Frist Apex, together with monetary paperwork and data it has not obtained.
In late September, Mayweather dropped claims against Rechnitz and Frist Apex with out rationalization.
Gotlib and Orbach now say Rechnitz has launched a marketing campaign in opposition to them, with the “incessant dissemination of falsehoods” meant to “shake them down.”
Rechnitz allegedly messaged Gotlib and Orbach’s skilled contacts in late September. “There’s plenty of fraud,” Rechnitz allegedly mentioned.
Rechnitz allegedly despatched a message to the president of Gotlib’s synagogue about potential litigation.
On Thursday, Rechnitz allegedly despatched a number of messages. One was a discover from Frist Apex to Gotlib and Orbach’s GO Residential REIT, giving discover that the agency could be bringing litigation associated to fraud.
One other with comparable allegations was despatched to the Ontario Securities Fee and Toronto Inventory Alternate, regulators for the REIT.
Lastly, Rechnitz messaged “a member of the true property press,” saying that he could be submitting lawsuits and had despatched notices and letters to the REIT. (The alleged messages to the press match emails obtained by The Actual Deal.)
A spokesperson for Gotlib and Orbach pointed moreover to Rechnitz’s legal conviction. In 2019, he was sentenced to 5 months in jail and 5 months on home arrest for trustworthy companies wire fraud, associated to directing bribes to New York cops.
“He’s a shakedown artist who’s determined for one final rating earlier than he should report back to federal jail to serve his sentence for the crimes he dedicated,” the spokesperson mentioned in a press release. “He has a path of unpaid judgments and unpaid money owed and we’re not going to turn out to be the most recent victims of his unethical and unlawful conduct.”
Rechnitz maintains that Frist Apex is owed distributions and that the corporate has been stonewalled by Gotlib and Orbach.
“Floyd [Mayweather] and Frist have but to obtain the correct financials, have but to obtain the correct tax reporting, or transparency from Black Spruce and Josh,” Rechnitz mentioned.
Leo Jacobs, the legal professional who dealt with Mayweather’s go well with in opposition to Rechnitz, declined to provide extra details about why the claims have been dropped.
An earlier model of this story contained a misspelling of Gotlib’s final title.
Learn extra
Floyd Mayweather drops lawsuit against Jona Rechnitz
From adviser to adversary: A timeline of Floyd Mayweather’s relationship with Jona Rechnitz
Floyd Mayweather hits Jona Rechnitz with fraud lawsuit, alleges diversion of $175M
Black Spruce stuck in Floyd Mayweather, Jona Rechnitz’s legal spat
