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Alex Rodriguez didn’t follow the rules of baseball – nor the book of the law.
That’s according to the retired Yankees slugger’s former brother-in-law, who alleges A-Rod owes him millions in back pay for real estate deals they made when Rodriguez was married to Cynthia Scurtis. in the mid-2000s.
In a sprawling 136-page lawsuit filed in Miami Civil Court on Friday and unveiled on Tuesday, Constantine Scurtis portrayed A-Rod as a con artist who committed all manner of frauds, tampered with and forged documents and removed him from the company that ‘they formed together after Rodriguez. The marriage to Cynthia Scurtis caught fire over allegations he cheated on her.
“After Rodriguez’s wife found out the truth about Rodriguez’s infidelity and filed for divorce, Rodriguez then turned on (Constantine) Scurtis and cheated on him,” the lawsuit says.
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Scurtis says he wants millions of dollars from Rodriguez, who has hit the fourth-most home run in baseball history at 696 but has also been suspended twice under the league’s drug policy. He retired in 2016. He is currently engaged to mega star Jennifer Lopez.
This is not the first time that Scurtis has brought Rodriguez to justice. He has filed several unsuccessful lawsuits against Rodriguez, the first almost ten years ago.
A representative for Rodriguez declined to comment. John C. Lukacs, the attorney representing A-Rod, did not immediately return a message requesting comment.
Scurtis said that in 2014 he asked his sister to contact Rodriguez, but the “response given to Scurtis was that Rodriguez would never pay him another dollar again.”
Scurtis also dramatically chronicles a time in 2007 when Rodriguez allegedly looked him in the eye and swore he had never been unfaithful to his sister. Shortly before, the New York Post reported that Rodriguez was caught walking into a hotel room with a stripper.
Additionally, Scurtis says one of Rodriguez’s businesses “concocted a plan to profit from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike,” which was blamed for at least 195 deaths and billions of dollars in damage in 2008. In the alleged plan, Rodriguez’s firm, Newport Property Ventures, created accounting records “reflecting dramatically inflated damage” to properties it owned. Scurtis claims Rodriguez then paid a whistleblower to remain silent after calling him.
Scurtis said Rodriguez would not have succeeded in real estate without Scurtis’ knowledge and expertise. The lawsuit says Scurtis and Rodriguez became partners in 2003, a year after Rodriguez married Cynthia Scurtis. In the deal, Rodriguez would take 95% of the discount since he was a cash cow and Scurtis would get the rest to provide his services, plus a 3% acquisition fee on “purchases of properties he identified as investment opportunities ”.
But it all ended in 2008. It was then, says Scurtis, that two of Rodriguez’s business partners walked into Scurtis’ office and “demanded” that he leave the building. The next day, Scurtis said, Rodriguez texted him reassuring him that everything was fine between them and that they had not ended up as friends or business partners.
“I hope to have a long, calm and loving discussion over lunch,” Rodriguez sent Scurtis, according to the lawsuit. “Me and you alone.”
Apparently, this discussion never took place.
“Scurtis never suspected that the brawl over the day-to-day running of the business arising from his sister’s divorce would be followed by a systematic and fraudulent effort to wipe out Scurtis’ equity in the business and deprive him of future rewards. to which he was rightly entitled, ”the trial said.
Scurtis said he stopped receiving his share after Rodriguez started a new company without him and sold him their assets, cutting him off for good.
“Thanks to their racketeering,” says the lawsuit, “Rodriguez and his co-conspirators have caused Scurtis several million dollars in damages.”
Scurtis said Rodriguez’s shady business moves prompted the IRS to file a tax lien against him, which threatened foreclosure on his family’s home and bank accounts after Rodriguez falsely reported to the government that he had sent payments.
Read the full lawsuit below.
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