Missing millionaire's family faces off in court
Nearly two years after Fort Lauderdale millionaire Guma Aguiar disappeared at sea, the battle over his assets has landed in court.
The trial that began in Broward Circuit Court Friday largely hinges on whether or not Guma Aguiar is dead. His wife Jamie Aguiar argues he likely is, and therefore his assets must be divided as his will specifies.
But his mother, Ellen Aguiar, said there is no proof of that.
"Guma is alive in the eyes of this court. He has not been declared dead. There is no estate that has been opened," her attorney, Richard Berman, told Judge Mark Speiser. "Jamie has brought a claim claiming an interest in real property that she gave up in her [pre-nuptial agreement]."
The 35-year-old father of four disappeared without a trace from aboard his boat on June 19, 2012. Amid high winds and rough seas, he set out at sunset on his 31-foot Jupiter motorboat. About six hours later, with lights on and nobody aboard, the boat ran aground on Fort Lauderdale beach near the Elbo Room.
The U.S. Coast Guard abandoned its search for Aguiar after two days. He is presumed lost at sea.
"There are no new updates," Fort Lauderdale Sgt. Steve Novak said Friday. "His body has never been recovered and there have been no confirmed sightings of him since his disappearance."
Jamie Aguiar, 35, whose children are now 2, 5, 6 and 9, declined to comment.
"Her personal life and situation and how she's been impacted by this is private," her attorney Al Frevola said.
Guma Aguiar's total wealth has been estimated to be about $100 million. The college dropout amassed his fortune after co-founding a natural-gas company with his maternal uncle that discovered huge reserves in East Texas. The company sold in 2007 for a staggering $2.55 billion.
At issue in this case is five parcels of Israeli real estate valued at $7.4 million. Aguiars's mother and sister, Angelika Aguiar Drew, claim the land was given to them, something Jamie Aguiar disputes.
"We call this the case of the secret gifts," Frevola, said Friday in his opening statement. "The only people claiming they were gifts are the people who received the gifts."
The property at stake is registered in the names of Ellen Aguiar, 60, and Angelika Aguiar Drew, 32. But Frevola argued it was only done so as a workaround to Israeli restrictions on how many pieces of property a single individual could acquire in particular neighborhoods.
Another three parcels in Israel are registered to another sister, Adriana Aguiar, 26. It, too, is at issue but is not a part of the current trial.
Frevola argued that under the terms of Guma Aguiar's will, one third of his assets should go to Jamie Aguiar, one third to his four children, and one third to his mother and three siblings.
"This is not some kind of money grab by Jamie," Frevola said. "Guma has disappeared and has likely passed away. Jamie is a beneficiary under the will."
Within days of his disappearance, his wife and mother each sought control of his estate. A judge, instead, appointed conservators.
One of those conservators, Thomas Panza, said in court Friday that after conducting his own independent investigation, he supports Jamie Aguiar's argument.
The notion that Guma gave the property as gifts to his mother and siblings "just defies any type of logic, reality or anything else," Panza said, and there are "no documents whatsoever" to support that position.
"These properties were clearly Guma's," he said. "Guma paid for the mortgages. Guma paid for the renovations. Guma paid for every single thing to do with these properties."
Ellen Aguiar, 60, testified for the better part of three hours Friday afternoon, saying her son was a generous soul who paid her salary, gave her a platinum American Express credit card with unlimited permission to spend, and preferred not to talk finances with her.
"Everything was paid," she said. "I didn't have financial needs. We were working and we were being paid adequately and we were grateful."
But her son had made one thing perfectly clear, she said: "These were our properties, he told us that they were ours as investment properties in Jerusalem, and that I could sell them if I wanted to and nobody could stop me."
"Property in Jerusalem, that to Guma, was the most precious thing in the world," she said. "For him it was the most valuable gift that he could give."
Since her son's disappearance she has lost the salary she earned through the family company, along with her health care benefits. It's been "a hardship," she said.
The trial resumes Tuesday.
tealanez@tribune.com, 954-356-4542 or Twitter @talanez
The trial that began in Broward Circuit Court Friday largely hinges on whether or not Guma Aguiar is dead. His wife Jamie Aguiar argues he likely is, and therefore his assets must be divided as his will specifies.
But his mother, Ellen Aguiar, said there is no proof of that.
The 35-year-old father of four disappeared without a trace from aboard his boat on June 19, 2012. Amid high winds and rough seas, he set out at sunset on his 31-foot Jupiter motorboat. About six hours later, with lights on and nobody aboard, the boat ran aground on Fort Lauderdale beach near the Elbo Room.
"There are no new updates," Fort Lauderdale Sgt. Steve Novak said Friday. "His body has never been recovered and there have been no confirmed sightings of him since his disappearance."
Jamie Aguiar, 35, whose children are now 2, 5, 6 and 9, declined to comment.
"Her personal life and situation and how she's been impacted by this is private," her attorney Al Frevola said.
Guma Aguiar's total wealth has been estimated to be about $100 million. The college dropout amassed his fortune after co-founding a natural-gas company with his maternal uncle that discovered huge reserves in East Texas. The company sold in 2007 for a staggering $2.55 billion.
At issue in this case is five parcels of Israeli real estate valued at $7.4 million. Aguiars's mother and sister, Angelika Aguiar Drew, claim the land was given to them, something Jamie Aguiar disputes.
"We call this the case of the secret gifts," Frevola, said Friday in his opening statement. "The only people claiming they were gifts are the people who received the gifts."
The property at stake is registered in the names of Ellen Aguiar, 60, and Angelika Aguiar Drew, 32. But Frevola argued it was only done so as a workaround to Israeli restrictions on how many pieces of property a single individual could acquire in particular neighborhoods.
Another three parcels in Israel are registered to another sister, Adriana Aguiar, 26. It, too, is at issue but is not a part of the current trial.
Frevola argued that under the terms of Guma Aguiar's will, one third of his assets should go to Jamie Aguiar, one third to his four children, and one third to his mother and three siblings.
"This is not some kind of money grab by Jamie," Frevola said. "Guma has disappeared and has likely passed away. Jamie is a beneficiary under the will."
Within days of his disappearance, his wife and mother each sought control of his estate. A judge, instead, appointed conservators.
One of those conservators, Thomas Panza, said in court Friday that after conducting his own independent investigation, he supports Jamie Aguiar's argument.
The notion that Guma gave the property as gifts to his mother and siblings "just defies any type of logic, reality or anything else," Panza said, and there are "no documents whatsoever" to support that position.
"These properties were clearly Guma's," he said. "Guma paid for the mortgages. Guma paid for the renovations. Guma paid for every single thing to do with these properties."
Ellen Aguiar, 60, testified for the better part of three hours Friday afternoon, saying her son was a generous soul who paid her salary, gave her a platinum American Express credit card with unlimited permission to spend, and preferred not to talk finances with her.
"Everything was paid," she said. "I didn't have financial needs. We were working and we were being paid adequately and we were grateful."
But her son had made one thing perfectly clear, she said: "These were our properties, he told us that they were ours as investment properties in Jerusalem, and that I could sell them if I wanted to and nobody could stop me."
"Property in Jerusalem, that to Guma, was the most precious thing in the world," she said. "For him it was the most valuable gift that he could give."
Since her son's disappearance she has lost the salary she earned through the family company, along with her health care benefits. It's been "a hardship," she said.
The trial resumes Tuesday.
tealanez@tribune.com, 954-356-4542 or Twitter @talanez
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