UPDATED, Jan. 17, 6:25 p.m.
In a nasty comment online, a Miami realtor claims Masoud Shojaee “stole money from his daughters’ trust fund to buy elaborate gifts for this gold digger” — referring to Masoud’s wife, Stephanie.
That’s just a taste of the mean things Joanne Silva, an agent with Cervera Real Estate, said about the Shojaees in a recent Instagram post. Now, the Shoma Group power couple want Silva to pay for her caustic tongue.
The Shojaees sued Silva for defamation last week in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The couple married in 2019, a year after Masoud finalized his divorce from Shoma Group co-founder and his former spouse, Maria Lamas.
Lamas is no longer involved with the company she helped her ex-husband build. Masoud is Shoma’s CEO, and Stephanie is the company’s president.
The Shojaees did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Shojaees’ attorney Jose Ferrer did not respond to voicemail and email requests for comment. Silva referred The Real Deal to her lawyer, Marcos Jimenez, a former South Florida U.S. District Attorney. He also did not respond to requests for comment.
On Jan. 6, Silva — whose Instagram handle is “josilva_miami” — posted her scathing screed among comments from other people in a post about the Shojaees, the lawsuit states. The complaint does not provide more context about the Instagram post that incited Silva.
Silva claimed that Lamas “divorced [Masoud] after years of infidelity,” and that Stephanie was a “struggling realtor when he met her,” according to a screenshot of the Instagram comments attached to the lawsuit.
(Instagram)
“She now carries on like she worked so hard for everything she has,” Silva wrote. “It’s akin to the world’s oldest profession! Disgusting!”
The Shojaees allege that Silva posted “false, baseless, defamatory, and malicious comments accusing the Shojaees of engaging in criminal behavior.” The lawsuit also alleges that Silva went on “an extremely public forum to call Stephanie a prostitute.”
Stephanie has been on the offense when it comes to her marriage and her career. The Shojaees have a notable following on Instagram — Stephanie has nearly half a million followers, and Masoud, who rarely posts, has over 100,000 followers.
In a recent podcast interview, Stephanie shared the couple’s story, disclosing details about how Masoud’s adult children cut off communication with him, and how Stephanie feels about potentially having children with Masoud. She also pushed back against being labeled a “gold digger,” adding that she worked under a different boss when she joined Shoma.
On the “Divorced Not Dead” podcast with host Caroline Stanbury, who stars on “The Real Housewives of Dubai,” Shojaee said Masoud’s friends from his previous marriage urged him to break up with her; at one point doing so in front of Stephanie early on in their relationship.
“I tell my husband all the time. ‘Is it ever going to stop? Is it ever going to get better, where people don’t assume that [I] slept [my] way to the top?’” Stephanie said on the podcast.
Stephanie said that Masoud’s children, Lilibet and Analise Shoajee, having cut ties with him has been “heart wrenching” for Masoud.
A search on Instagram revealed that Silva wrote her comments under a Jan. 5 post on The Real Deal’s Instagram account about Stephanie’s podcast interview. She is among 31 replies to a comment by @floridaassociationwomenlawyers that also disparages Masoud and Stephanie over his strained relationship with his children.
Masoud’s daughters have done more than just cut off their father. In 2019, Lilibet, Analise and their M&M Life Insurance Trust sued Masoud in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, alleging their dad secretly siphoned funds from a rock mining land rental company they own. Masoud allegedly withdrew more than $7 million to pay and support his lavish personal lifestyle since 2015, the lawsuit states.
In a 2021 amended complaint, Masoud’s daughters allege that he “falsely created” a promissory note in order “to deceitfully portray” that the cash disbursements were a loan that he has to pay back. In his affirmative defense to the lawsuit, Masoud has denied any wrongdoing. The lawsuit is still pending.
Two other trusts benefitting the Shojaee daughters also filed a lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court against a Shoma affiliate tied to the mixed-use project Sanctuary Doral that Shoma developed. The still pending lawsuit claims the Shoma affiliate has refused to let the trusts inspect its financial books and records. In 2021, Shoma sold Sanctuary Doral’s apartment building to Avanti for $102.5 million.