Legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather is suing former adviser in alleged $175M fraud scheme

Legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather is suing his former investment manager and real estate adviser for $175 million, claiming the adviser had defrauded him over a number of years. 

The suit, which was filed in a New York court, accuses Jona Rechnitz and Ayal Frist, who ran a Florida-based real estate and investment firm where a large sum of Mayweather’s money was sent, of fraud and a breach of fiduciary duty, according to ESPN.

Mayweather’s career lasted from 1996 to 2017, during which he had a 50-0 record (27 KOs), and won world championships in five different weight divisions.  

He had two pay-per-view fights that each generated more than $600 million. The first was against Manny Pacquiao in 2015, the second against former MMA champion Conor McGregor in 2017. Mayweather was the world's highest-paid athlete in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018 (according to Forbes). 

Mayweather alleges that Rechnitz slowly gained his trust, over a number of years, and then used his advisory role to get Mayweather’s money moved into accounts with Frist’s company, Frist Apex Ventures. 

"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 Frist Apex Ventures -- demands a full judicial accounting," Mayweather's attorney, Leo Jacobs, said in a statement. "We look forward to obtaining that accounting and to recovering every dollar to which our client is entitled."

One example cited was a $7.5 million wire for a 12-month investment in July of 2024, to Frist Apex for which no investment was made, and the initial money was never returned.

Rechnitz was a donor to former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who once tried to bribe New York Police Department cops with hookers, according to the New York Post.