Floyd Mayweather Jr., the esteemed five-time heavyweight boxing champion, is stepping into the legal ring against Jona Rechnitz, a former prominent donor to ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mayweather has accused Rechnitz of masterminding a $175 million fraud scheme that entangled jewels and the covert sale of a jet.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Mayweather alleges that Rechnitz, notorious for once attempting to bribe NYPD officers with prostitutes, orchestrated a “multi-year fraudulent scheme” involving real estate, jewelry, and Mayweather’s cherished Gulfstream Jet, famously adorned with “MAYWEATHER” on its side.
Leo Jacobs, Mayweather’s attorney, conveyed the seriousness of the situation to The Post, stating, “As they say, the gloves are off. This case is about restoring to our client what is rightfully his.”
Rechnitz had invested years in building a relationship with Mayweather, known for amassing a reported $1 billion throughout his boxing career. Despite his considerable earnings, Mayweather’s lavish lifestyle has occasionally left him in financial straits.
By 2024, Rechnitz had assumed the role of “de facto” manager over the boxer’s investments, banking, and real estate assets. However, court documents reveal that Rechnitz allegedly betrayed Mayweather’s trust, siphoning off the athlete’s wealth for himself and an associate.
Rechnitz’s past is marked by controversy, having pled guilty in 2016 for his involvement in the notorious NYPD corruption scandal, which also featured private jet antics and other illicit activities.
He had been a top donor to de Blasio — who called him a “brother” in emails.
Mayweather says in his suit that Rechnitz hid his criminal past from him, which has included a separate $17.7 million judgment against the former powerbroker and his pal Ayel Frist, who also is being sued by Mayweather.
The boxer’s lawsuit demands that Rechnitz pay back the claimed $175 million in losses — detailing exactly how the alleged jaw-dropping clandestine fraud went down.
In July 2024, Rechnitz took it upon himself to wire $7.5 million from one of Mayweather’s companies to a Florida LLC owned by his pal Frist, stating it was for an imaginary “12-month investment” that never materialized, according to the suit.
A year later, Rechnitz schemed to bring roughly $100 million of Mayweather’s jewelry to a pair of Miami dealers, using it as collateral for a $13 million loan from them, court documents claim.
In a text thread with Rechnitz and Mayweather, one of the dealers writes that he will “start to liquidate the merchandise” if he doesn’t receive payments soon, court docs show.
“Agreed thx,” Rechnitz responded instantly.
Mayweather later lamented the predicament in a text, writing, “I fought from a kid to get everything I own, and it’s sad that someone would even put me in this situation.”
In November 2025, Rechnitz urged Mayweather to execute a bill of sale for the jet, but the buyer’s name was left blank, the lawsuit says.
Mayweather has no idea who ultimately bought it and hasn’t seen a dime from the sale, the filing reads.
But he claims that “the proceeds were applied to a Bugatti-related obligation … with no portion paid to Mr. Mayweather.”
Other shocking allegations of Rechnitz machinations include him ordering a lawyer to transfer a $15 million real estate settlement to his friend’s Florida shell company and that he siphoned half of an allegedly illicit $16 million loan to himself.
A January email from Rechnitz allegedly shows that his nefarious scheme was ready to continue with 20 percent of nearly $4 million in distributions from Mayweather’s Manhattan real estate portfolio going directly to him.
