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The proprietor of Speedy Realty, a rental brokerage within the New York Metropolis borough of Brooklyn, is suing the corporate’s former proprietor for what he claims is fraud.

Yves Jean-Baptiste filed the lawsuit in New York Monday, saying that Speedy Realty’s founder and former proprietor Anthony Lolli did not disclose important data and induced him to purchase the corporate “underneath false pretenses.” It additionally accuses Lolli of “outright misappropriation, embezzlement and improper use of” Jean-Baptiste’s funds.

The go well with moreover names as defendants different former Speedy Realty executives and seeks greater than $80 million in damages.

Information of the lawsuit was first reported by The Actual Deal, which has additionally coated an earlier civil racketeering case towards Speedy Realty from a Florida lender with which the corporate labored.

Lolli and attorneys for Jean-Baptiste didn’t instantly reply to Inman’s request for remark Thursday.

The criticism in Jean-Baptiste’s lawsuit runs greater than 60 pages and explains that he first struck up a relationship with Lolli in 2017 after utilizing Speedy Realty to market a few of his funding properties. Ultimately, Jean-Baptiste talked about eager to open an actual property workplace, the criticism reads. Lolli and one other firm chief then reportedly responded by suggesting Jean-Baptiste as an alternative by Speedy Realty’s headquarters and an related franchise.

Anthony Lolli

Nonetheless, the criticism alleges that Speedy Realty’s registration with the Workplace of the New York State Lawyer Basic had lapsed in 2016, that means the corporate was not allowed to promote franchises on the time. Jean-Baptiste claims within the go well with that “at no time” did anybody from the corporate point out that they couldn’t legally promote him a franchise.

The go well with additionally claims that Jean-Baptiste obtained “falsified monetary paperwork purporting to indicate that Speedy Group was considerably extra worthwhile and had considerably greater earnings than Speedy Group had in any respect related instances.”

The criticism consists of different allegations as nicely. Amongst them, Jean-Baptiste says firm leaders lied a couple of competing supply for the corporate, hid potential lawsuits towards the agency and that he was denied an opportunity to have his personal legal professionals overview the deal.

“As a part of their misleading gross sales pitch, Lolli and [Lolli’s business associate Marco] Santiago suggested Plaintiff that Speedy Group’s franchise enterprise was getting ready to reaching ‘new heights’ — albeit bearing full information of Speedy Group’s waning stream of income and royalties,” the criticism provides. “After it was too late, it turned obvious that the Speedy Group deal was a fraudulent automobile for Lolli and such different and additional Speedy Group principals, members, brokers and/or representatives to pawn their failing enterprise ventures, investments, and liabilities onto Plaintiff with out disclosing their particular information of Speedy Group’s ongoing demise.”

The alleged turmoil Jean-Baptiste describes within the go well with seems to have taken a toll on the corporate. As of Thursday, it didn’t have a functioning web site and Wikipedia claims (with no quotation) that it’s now not in operation. The Actual Deal additionally reported that after reaching the biggest headcount for a corporation of its form in Brooklyn in 2014, with greater than 400 brokers, it had shrunk to 99 brokers by the top of 2018. The outlet additional reported this week that Speedy Realty’s cellphone quantity had been disconnected.

Nonetheless, Jean-Baptiste’s LinkedIn web page nonetheless lists his job as president of Speedy Realty.

The go well with finally consists of 9 “causes of motion” or separate allegations that every consists of calls for for compensation. No court docket date has been set, nor has Lolli filed a response.

Electronic mail Jim Dalrymple II