Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. is accusing a former close associate of orchestrating a whopping $175 million financial scheme involving missing jewelry, vanished investment money, and even the mysterious sale of his beloved private jet.
Money Troubles
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the undefeated champion claims ex-political donor and his formerbusiness partner Jona Rechnitz spent years gaining his trust before allegedly turning into what Mayweather now describes as the mastermind behind a sprawling fraud operation.
According to the lawsuit, Mayweather says Rechnitz and several associates secretly redirected millions of dollars through shady business deals, unauthorized wire transfers, shell companies, and luxury asset schemes, the New York Post reported. This, claims the suit, left the boxing icon financially damaged despite earning more than $1 billion during his career.
Mayweather alleges roughly $100 million worth of jewelry was quietly taken to Miami dealers and used as collateral for a $13 million loan without him properly receiving the money or getting his valuables returned.
The filing also claims Mayweather’s iconic Gulfstream private jet somehow disappeared into a secretive transaction where the buyer’s name was allegedly left blank on paperwork.
Now the fighter says he has no idea where the plane sale money went.
“This case is about restoring to our client what is rightfully his,” Mayweather attorney Leo Jacobs said after the lawsuit exploded into public view.
According to court documents, Rechnitz positioned himself as Mayweather’s trusted financial insider in 2024, allegedly becoming the boxer’s unofficial investment adviser, banking middleman, and real estate handler.
It was also through Rechnitz’s connections that Mayweather donated more than $1 million to Jewish and Israeli causes.
Mayweather’s lawsuit accuses Rechnitz, associate Ayel Frist, Frist Apex Ventures, and attorney Alexander Seligson of helping orchestrate what the boxer describes as a “multi-year fraudulent scheme.”
One of the alleged deals involved a $7.5 million wire transfer from a Mayweather-owned company into a Florida LLC connected to Frist. The money was supposedly tied to a 12-month investment opportunity. But according to the lawsuit, the investment never happened and Mayweather says he has no idea where the money went.
The complaint also alleges Rechnitz diverted another $15 million connected to a real estate settlement into a shell company without Mayweather’s permission.
Then there’s the jewelry allegations.
The lawsuit claims Mayweather’s luxury jewelry collection, which included diamond-encrusted watches, chains, and custom pieces, was used to secure a huge loan from Miami jewelers. According to the filing, around $100 million in jewelry was allegedly handed over in exchange for approximately $13 million.
But perhaps the oddest allegation in the lawsuit centers on Mayweather’s customized Gulfstream jet emblazoned with “MAYWEATHER” on its side.
According to the complaint, Rechnitz pushed the boxer to sign a bill of sale for the plane in late 2025, but the buyer’s name was allegedly left blank. The lawsuit claims Mayweather still does not know who purchased the jet or where the sale proceeds ended up. Instead, the filing alleges the money was diverted toward obligations connected to a luxury Bugatti vehicle.
Mayweather says none of the proceeds were paid directly to him.
Defense lawyer Morris Missry blasted the lawsuit as “utterly baseless” and claimed documentary evidence will disprove the boxer’s allegations. Missry also warned that Mayweather’s “gambling issues, prolific spending habits, monies owed to third-party creditors and IRS tax liens and levies” could be exposed during the case.
Mayweather is seeking at least $175 million in damages, punitive penalties, and a full accounting of where the allegedly diverted money and assets went.
As the lawsuit unfolds, Mayweather is dealing with tax debt. In late March, the Internal Revenue Service filed a reported $7.3 million tax lien in Las Vegas over unpaid taxes dating back years.
