Baseball stars allege NJ real estate fraud

Two former baseball stars have filed a lawsuit against Kolinsky Hill Financial Group for drawing them into an allegedly fraudulent real estate investment, according to Sports Illustrated. Former Minneapolis Twins outfielder Rondell White and former Mets outfielder Cliff Floyd invested $1 million and $1.25 million, respectively, in a seven-acre property adjacent to the Hackensack River in New Jersey, along with four other major-leagers. But what Steven Kolinsky and Stephen Hill of the financial group had described as a “slam dunk” investment turned out to be a multi-million dollar real estate scam, White and Floyd allege. Jeffrey Rosenberg, the attorney for the two complaintants, alleges that Kolinsky and Hill knowingly deceived their investors when they claimed that they would use the parcel of land for a money-making development. “The defendants were negligent and careless at a minimum, and intentional at worst, in saying that they could develop this property and make a profit,” Rosenberg said. “The ballplayers didn’t have knowledge and sophistication in real estate development, so they took advantage of that. They defrauded them.” [Sports Illustrated]