A company owned by Rockstar Energy billionaire Russell Weiner is suing the project manager he hired to manage construction of his waterfront Miami Beach estate, alleging that he was defrauded out of at least $20 million, The Real Deal has learned.
Weiner’s Pine Tree Drive Development sued Andrea D’Alessio, his companies Inspirata Management and Scalaa GP, and three employees who worked with D’Alessio in late 2024. The complaint alleges that the defendants crafted “schemes to defraud and cheat” through overbilling, false charges and self-dealing, according to a complaint filed in December in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
D’Alessio denies the allegations.
Weiner’s lawsuit is one of at least three involving D’Alessio and Inspirata. The original complaint, filed by Weiner’s company in October, states that the alleged scheme has been reported to the FBI, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Miami and Miami Beach’s police departments and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Miami Beach Police, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has a case open, according to the lawsuit.
Weiner met D’Alessio when he purchased the properties at 5011 and 5111 Pine Tree Drive in 2021, according to the latest complaint. D’Alessio helped negotiate the sale on behalf of the sellers, private school owners David and Leila Centner. Weiner hired D’Alessio’s Inspirata as a project manager and owner’s representative for construction of the waterfront estate.
The Centners and Inspirata are also suing each other, records show.
Weiner, who is worth about $5.2 billion, according to Forbes, spent about $1 million to have the 1920s estate on the property at 5011 Pine Tree Drive gutted and relocated to a different part of the site. He is replacing it with a new 30,000-square-foot main mansion. Two doors down, at 5111 Pine Tree Drive, he plans a guest estate. The entire project was expected to cost more than $100 million.
Construction of Weiner’s properties, which began in 2022, raised red flags among some neighbors who were concerned about the process and preservation of the historic structures on the site, TRD reported last fall. The neighbors pointed to the alleged forgery of signatures on public filings tied to construction.
Weiner’s attorney wrote in the original complaint filed Oct. 31 that Weiner learned of the alleged scheme when TRD reported in a story published Oct. 1 on the allegations tied to construction of the estate. Construction was halted about that time.
The lawsuit alleges that the construction work was “incompetently supervised,” completed without authorization, and some of the work was done in a “substandard” manner that was overdesigned… “driving up construction costs and creating extensive challenges.”
The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair and deceptive practices, civil conspiracy and other counts. It alleges the defendants acted as “unlicensed contractors.”
D’Alessio promoted himself as a “renowned architectural designer” and residential contractor, but he didn’t have a Florida license for design, construction, or any certifications with respect to design or development, according to the complaint. D’Alessio said that Weiner knew D’Alessio was not the general contractor and that Weiner was aware of the work being done.
Weiner’s company is alleging that D’Alessio and Inspirata invoiced him for inflated material costs, in some cases doubled hourly rates, as well as charged him for non-existent fees. They also allegedly engaged in self-dealing by hiring Scalaa, an architecture firm owned by D’Alessio. D’Alessio didn’t tell Weiner that he has an interest in Scalaa, the lawsuit alleges.
Inspirata and D’Alessio allegedly “double-dipped” by charging additional amounts for construction administrator fees, which were already included in a fixed monthly payment to Inspirata. The engagement letter between Weiner’s company and Inspirata, signed in November 2021, outlines a nearly $41,000 monthly payment, plus hourly fees for architects and other professionals.
In a statement provided to TRD, D’Alessio said that Weiner’s “tortured misrepresentation of facts and refusal to meet in person to correct his obvious memory lapse regarding how we worked together for the last four years has led us to this point.” He said that Weiner approved weekly invoices detailing the charges.
Sandwiched in the middle of Weiner’s properties is a home owned by Richard and Maria Meruelo. That estate has been wrapped up in the Meruelos’ lengthy divorce, complicated by the fact that Weiner purchased the note from the Meruelos previous lender, which had initiated a foreclosure case.
Weiner’s lawsuit against Inspirata and D’Alessio also names Anthony Iannuzzi, Erik Peterson and Eduardo Muhina for allegedly participating in the scheme. They work or worked with D’Alessio.
Weiner told TRD via text that he was “too trusting.”
“I assumed that who I was working with had the same honor and integrity as me. Assumption equals failure,” he said. “I just hope the justice system punishes the criminals in this case.”
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Residential
South Florida
Inside billionaire Russell Weiner's construction of massive Miami Beach waterfront estate
Residential
South Florida
Divorce, foreclosure and an $18M offer: Inside the saga on Pine Tree Drive