The knives are outside.
A billionaire friend of Jeffrey Epstein is at the center of a bitter series of lawsuits and a divorce, with ugly accusations of sexual harassment and death threats, according to court documents.
Benny Shabtai, 74, is divorcing his Socialist wife of eight years, Stacey Cooper Shabtai, 62, and is being accused by his stepdaughter Samantha Cooper, 36, of sexually harassing her, he alleges in a lawsuit.
She even claims the restaurant boss threatened to make her “disappear” because of her ties to Israeli spies with whom Epstein befriended, according to court documents.
Shabtai, Stacey and Samantha Cooper, and then-business partner Michael Baccaro acquired the operating rights to open and manage Florida versions of New York-based restaurant Serafina from founders Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato in 2016.
The celebrity-favorite mini-chain has hosted multiple Kardashians, Victoria Beckham, and Tom Cruise, among others, for pasta and pizza, among others, and has grown to a total of 30 locations in Manhattan and Boston and internationally in Japan, India, Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Italy.
But now Shabtai has fallen out bitterly with the Coopers and Baccaro, and Shabtai decided to divorce Stacey in October 2022, followed by the billionaire firing Samantha from her position as manager of Serafina Miami.
Samantha countersues Shabtai, claiming in court documents that her stepfather required her to “dress sexy” at work and alleged in the lawsuit that he “regularly touched her in inappropriate places in an adverse and unwanted manner.”
Billionaire businessman and investor Benny Shabtai filed for divorce from his wife, supermodel Stacey Cooper Shabtai (left), last October. Shortly after, he fired his daughter, Samantha Cooper, manager and co-owner of a branch of the international restaurant chain Serafina in Miami. fake images
And she accuses him in court documents of saying her children “wouldn’t have anything to eat.”
“He traveled with his good friend Jeffrey Epstein to Israel, where they had secret meetings with the Israeli military to fund covert operations and could therefore harm Samantha Cooper and get away with it if she didn’t do what he said. ” the stepdaughter states in court documents.
Multiple sources close to Serafina Miami’s family and business operations say Cooper worked more than 60 hours a week and that kicking her out of the company was “revenge” after the divorce.
Shabtai is also accused of sexual harassment by a lower-ranking manager at the Miami outpost.
Samantha Cooper, Kristen Cooper, Casey Cooper, Martha Graeff and Stacey Cooper Shabtai. Samantha Cooper (left) directed Serafina in Miami. She and her stepfather, Benny Shabtai, are suing each other. Getty Images for Haute Living
Giuliana Roncarati Gotera, who resigned from Serafina Miami in June, alleged in an affidavit filed in Miami-Dade County as part of Samantha’s countersuit that Shabtai “touched” her and made her feel “uncomfortable.”
And Stacey Cooper is also suing, alleging that Shabtai has failed to distribute years of profits between her, her daughter and Baccaro, instead keeping them for himself. She claims that Shabtai is trying to take over Serafina.
His lawsuit alleges that Shabtai filed tax returns “with the incorrect membership interest” taking advantage of tax benefits to which he is not entitled.
Benny Shabtai and convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein traveled to Israel in April 2008, Page Six reported at the time, after Epstein pleaded guilty to a single charge of soliciting an underage prostitute and before he was given a light sentence. of 18 months that allowed him to leave. prison practically every day. AP Shabtai was also listed in Epstein’s phone book with the names and numbers of the rich and famous.
“Why would he do something terrible to his stepdaughter, his wife? You have everything you need for 10 lives. “It’s the character of the person, not even the money, it’s the character of the person I married,” Stacey told The Post.
Stacey Cooper’s attorney, Lorne Berkeley, alleged to The Post: “Benny is doing this to expand the restaurant and the Serafina name to have other restaurants without Stacey and without Samantha, who own and have an interest in the rights and the name.” from Serafina here in Florida.
“That’s what was agreed upon. Benny is moving them out of Serafina and moving forward with restaurant concepts without them.
The family dispute is over this Serefina branch in Miami. Photo credit: Serafina Miami
“[He’s] trying to deny Stacey and Sammy the rightful property, as well as the money to which they are entitled.”
Baccaro, who is not litigating, told The Post: “It is an all-out war. “He is a terrible human being.”
Shabtai denied any wrongdoing and told The Post that he had fired his former stepdaughter for her performance as a manager.
Serena Williams with Stacey Cooper Shabtai. Stacey, who belongs to elite social circles, was involved in the expansion of the Serafina brand to Florida.@staceyshabtai/Instagram
“I let Sammy go because she wasn’t acting,” he said. I took charge myself. I have the right to do that. And you must return all the company’s digital properties.”
Shabtai acknowledged to The Post that he was friends with Epstein and that he visited him at one of his homes. The notorious pedophile died in his prison cell in August 2019 after finally facing federal charges for his years of abusing underage girls and young women.
The two traveled to Israel in April 2008, Page Six reported at the time, after Epstein pleaded guilty to a single charge of soliciting an underage prostitute and before he was given a light 18-month sentence that allowed him get out of prison practically every day.
Serafina has hosted many celebrities over the years, including Kim Kardashian. GC Images
The restaurant owner was also listed in Epstein’s phone book with the names and numbers of the rich and famous used as evidence to help convict his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, of trafficking underage girls.
Shabtai denied having any involvement in Epstein’s sex ring, telling The Post: “He [Epstein] He never introduced me to any girl. She didn’t know it; I never saw any girl in that house in my life. I found out when she was accused.”
Shabtai, originally from Tel Aviv, began building his fortune in the United States in 1977 when he started his Raymond Weil business importing watches into the United States. A year later, his former roommate, diamond cutter Pini Balabin, was found guilty of the murder of runner Pincho Jaroslawicz. (Jaroslawicz was released from prison in 2015, records show.)
Kendall Jenner seen outside Serafina. GC Images
A source close to the family told The Post that Shabtai was questioned about the murder during this time and then allegedly fled the country to Israel until the dust settled.
She founded the New York-based jewelry company DiModolo in 2000, which featured Catherine Zeta-Jones as a brand ambassador.
In 2014, it sold its 55.2% stake in Viber, an Israeli instant messaging app, for $496 million to Japanese company Rakuten.
A year later, he and Stacey Cooper tied the knot during a lavish three-day wedding in the Bahamas attended by Steve Wynn, Jacob (the jeweler) Arabo and attorney Robert Shapiro, among others, Page Six reported.
Shabtai denied having any involvement in Epstein’s sex ring, telling The Post: “He [Epstein] He never introduced me to any girl. She didn’t know it; I never saw any girl in that house in my life. I found out when she was accused.” PMc – Patrick McMullan
In 2019, he was sued for embezzling a $1.7 million donation intended for the Yale Jewish Society for the renovation of a historic mansion near the Ivy League University intended to house Jewish leaders. (The lawsuit was later dismissed.)
The lawsuit alleged that Shabtai breached the agreement and failed to renovate the Orange Street property in New Haven.
Samantha also alleges in court documents that Shabtai “applied for a PPP loan received on behalf of the restaurant,” but allowed the lease to go into default for not paying rent since 2020. Instead, he “pocketed the proceeds from the restaurant.” PPP loan to himself,” the lawsuit states. Benny denied these allegations to The Post.
According to public records, Shabtai’s LLC, 19501 Biscayne, claimed $1,611,432 in PPP loan money between April 2020 and May 2021.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn