Shohei Ohtani and agent accused of having saboting 240 million dollars Hawaii Real Estate Project

An investor and real estate broker from Hawaii pursues Shohei Ohtani, saying that the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his agent drew them from a luxury housing development of 240 million dollars on the coveted Hapuna coast of the Big Island in which they brought him.

According to the trial brought by Hawaii Court Court, Ohtani’s agent, Balelo Nose, has increasingly requested concessions from the developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and the real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto before asking their trading partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, will drop them off.

“Balelo and [Ohtani]which was brought to the company only for [Ohtani’s] The promotional value and the brand image has exploited its lever effect of celebrities to destabilize and ultimately dismantle the role of applicants in the project – for no other reason than their own financial interest, “said the trial.

The costume accuses Ohtani and Balelo of tort interference and unfair enrichment. Hayes, a developer with 40 years of experience, and Matsumoto, who was to be the inscribing agent of the houses on average of $ 17.3 million each, say that Ohtani and Balelo have also tried to undermine their interests in a second neighboring business.

“This case concerns the abuse of power,” said the trial. “The defendants used baseless threats and legal allegations to force a trading partner to betray his contractual obligations and to strip the complainants of the very project that they have designed and built.

“Defenders must be held responsible for their actions, not protected by renowned or behind -the -back agents acting with impunity. The applicants are intended this action to expose the unconsciousness of the defendants and to ensure that the rules of contract, equitable negotiation and responsibility also apply to all – celebrities or not.”

A spokesperson for the Balelo agency, CAA Baseball, refused to comment. In a statement sent by email to the Associated Press on Tuesday, Kingsbarn described the allegations “completely frivolous and without merit”.

“Kingsbarn assumes full responsibility for his actions concerning Kevin Hayes and for the elimination of Tomoko Matsumoto as a project broker,” said the company.

Ohtani, 31, arrived from Japan in 2018 as perhaps the most announced international star in the history of baseball, with the ability to launch and strike that made him doubly precious for his team. All-star five times and triple the most useful triple player, he signed a record contract of $ 700 million with the Dodgers before last season and helped the team win the World Series 2024.

Investment equipment for the Vista at Mauna Kea Resort, which remained online on Monday evening, listed Hayes and Matsumoto as part of the management team, with Kingsbarn. He called Ohtani “Japan’s Babe Ruth” and the “1st resident” – giving him the best invoicing before the emblematic Mauna Kea Resort, “one of the most famous hotels in Hawaii”; Hapuna Beach, “evaluated beach n ° 1 in America by Conde Nast Traveler”; And two golf courses, one designed by Arnold Palmer, the other of Robert Trent Jones Sr.

“Ohtani will act as a celebrity spokesperson for the project and is committed to buying one of the 14 project residences,” said the brochure. “He also intends to spend a lot of time at the Vista during the dead and build a small strike and pitch installation for pre-season training.”

The prosecution indicates that the developers spent 11 years working on the agreement and “as part of a daring marketing strategy” signed an approval agreement in 2023 with Ohtani “, one of the most imaginable endorsements”.

“This partnership with Ohtani will increase demand and create buzz on the Japanese luxury holiday home market, which is a main target audience for the project,” said the investment brochure. “We consider the property of Shohei Ohtani as having a significant impact on the world project exhibition and expects to accelerate the pace of sales, thus helping us to achieve our price objectives.”

The costume said Balelo “quickly became a disturbing force”, threatening to withdraw Ohtani from the agreement if the concessions were not made.

“Kingsbarn began to capitulate all the whims of Balelo,” said the costume. “Over time, he has become more and more obvious that Kingsbarn was more concerned with preserving his relationship with [Ohtani] than to honor its obligations to its business partners. “”

Last month, in what the costume called “a coordinated ambush”, Kingsbarn shot Hayes and Matsumoto.

“Kingsbarn openly admitted during the appeal that Balelo demanded the layoffs and that they were made only to appease it,” said the trial. “Applicants should lose millions of dollars in compensation linked to the benefit of the construction of projected houses, construction costs and broker commissions.”