Floyd Mayweather previously stated that he fully trusts his investment manager and convicted felon Jona Rechnitz. One year later, the billionaire boxer is suing him for allegedly stealing $175 million.
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Mayweather alleges that Rechnitz, with the help of two associates, defrauded him over multiple years. During that time, the proceeds from sales of the prizefighter's real estate, jewelry, and a private jet added up to the $175 million sum Mayweather is seeking.
"As they say, the gloves are off," Mayweather's attorney Leo Jacobs told The Independent. "The complaint speaks for itself."
The suit, filed in a New York court, claims Jona Rechnitz, Mayweather's former manager, and Ayal Frist, who ran Frist Apex Ventures, committed fraud through an elaborate multimillion-dollar scam.
ESPN reported that Rechnitz, Frist, Frist Apex, and Alexander Seligson, an attorney who handled the refinance of one of Mayweather's properties, are listed as defendants.
Floyd Mayweather Is Seeking $175 Million in a New Lawsuit
"The conduct alleged in this pleading—including the diversion of settlement proceeds, refinance proceeds, and recurring real estate distributions to accounts controlled by Jona Rechnitz through First Apex Ventures—demands a full judicial accounting," Jacobs said in a statement. "We look forward to obtaining that accounting and to recovering every dollar to which our client is entitled."
The lawsuit was filed days after a court ruling ordered Mayweather to pay nearly $1 million in back child support, plus $33,000 a month, to a Las Vegas stripper with whom he fathered a four-year-old daughter.
The undefeated boxing legend is suing for at least $175M, punitive damages, and a full accounting of where all the money allegedly disappeared, TMZ reported.
For Mayweather, it is the second blockbuster lawsuit of the year. The retired five-division world champion also filed a lawsuit against Showtime.
The 48-year-old claims that he is owed "at least" $340 million. He says a "complex web of hidden accounts, unauthorized transactions and deliberate concealment of financial records" is the reason he has yet to receive payment.
