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Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo are being sued by a realtor and developer in Hawaii, according to a new lawsuit obtained by the Associated Press
Ohtani and Balelo allegedly had the realtor and developer fired from their $240 million luxury housing development, per the suit
The Dodgers star is being accused of exploiting his “celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle” the plaintiffs
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, are being sued by a Hawaiian realtor and developer, according to reports.
A lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court on Friday, Aug. 8, accuses the baseball star, 31, and his agent of allegedly getting the realtor, Tomoko Matsumoto and developer, Kevin J. Hayes Sr., fired from a luxury housing development on the Big Island of Hawaii worth $240 million, according to the Associated Press and USA Today, who both obtained the suit.
Ohtani was reportedly brought in on the project to endorse the development with his celebrity status, but the lawsuit accuses him and his agent of “tortious interference and unjust enrichment,” per the AP’s report.
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Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers
“Balelo and [Ohtani], who were brought into the venture solely for [Ohtani’s] promotional and branding value, exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle Plaintiffs’ role in the project — for no reason other than their own financial self-interest,” the lawsuit states, according to the AP.
Balelo allegedly demanded that Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a business partner to Matsumoto and Hayes, remove them from the housing development deal, which would have brought in roughly $17.3 million on each house.
The lawsuit further states, “This case is about abuse of power,” according to the AP, and accuses Ohtani and Balelo of using “threats and baseless legal claims to force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations and strip Plaintiffs of the very project they conceived and built.”
“Defendants must be held accountable for their actions, not shielded by fame or behind-the-scenes agents acting with impunity,” the lawsuit reportedly continues. “Plaintiffs bring this suit to expose Defendants’ misconduct and to ensure that the rules of contract, fair dealing, and accountability apply equally to all — celebrity or not.”
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CAA Baseball, where Balelo is employed, did not respond to the AP’s request for comment. PEOPLE has contacted a representative for CAA Baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but did not immediately hear back.
The lawsuit against Ohtani and his agent comes shortly after the Dodgers star’s former interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara began his five-year prison sentence for defrauding the baseball star.
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Mizuhara began serving his sentence in June, in a low-security federal prison for bank and tax fraud charges related to a years-long scheme in which he impersonated and stole roughly $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player, according to the Associated Press.
The former interpreter was sentenced in February after he admitted to stealing millions from Ohtani, saying he was using the money to cover gambling debts he racked up over several years.
Read the original article on People
