Richard Segal, left, and Jamie L. Zuckerman, of Segal Zuckerman in Miami. Photos: J. Albert Diaz and A.M. Holt/ALM

Former National Football League player Julius Jones has filed a lawsuit accusing prominent real estate developer John Yanopoulos of swindling him out of his savings, which he invested in a furniture company, Euro Interiors Inc.

Richard Segal and Jamie Zuckerman of Segal Zuckerman in Miami represent Jones, who played for the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints between 2004 and 2011, and “unfortunately now has to cope with being another football statistic,” according to the Aug. 20 complaint.

Yanopoulos founded the Y Group in 2005. His development company has a $2 billion real estate portfolio and specializes in hotels, resorts and luxury high-rises, according to its website. Yanopoulos' projects include the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale and Infinity at Brickell.

According to Jones, Yanopoulos encouraged him to invest $500,000 in Euro Interiors Inc., promising returns within a year. He claimed the developer also delivered a promissory note pledging 10 percent interest.

“What is very obvious now is that all that John was looking at was a figure over Julius' head, knowing that he was a professional athlete and had lucrative contracts in his career,” said Segal, Jones' lawyer.

In 2015, Yanopoulos did pay Jones $200,000 in two installments, but according to the complaint stopped communicating with him after that. The lawsuit states that around that time, Yanopoulos bought a mansion for $3.1 million.

“Half a million dollars is half a million dollars, no matter how you slice it. I'm at a standstill on investments and moving forward with things that I want to do with my family because he's holding a large chunk of change that belongs to me,” Jones told the Daily Business Review.

John Yanopoulos and Julius Jones. Courtesy photo.

The pair met in 2009, shortly after Jones' second season with the Seattle Seahawks when he vacationed in South Florida with his family.

Jones was dining with his wife at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, when Yanopoulos, a stranger at the time, spontaneously sent over a bottle of champagne to their table.

“The bottle of champagne that John sent over to Julius should have never been uncorked,” Segal said.

From then on, the complaint alleged, Yanopoulos “paraded” Jones and his wife around at social events, using his “prominent status as a professional athlete to garner goodwill in attempting to secure additional financing from others within their circle and community.”

“John did the classic thing,” said Segal. “He got Julius to trust him, not just as a business partner but as a friend.”

“Having monopolized on Jones' celebrity and circle,” the complaint said, “Yanopoulos then turned to Jones to swindle.”

In 2012, Yanopoulos and Jones met at Brickell restaurant Il Gabbiano to discuss an upcoming project. According to Jones, Yanopoulos later took him to a warehouse full of furniture made by Euro Interiors Inc. that he planned on using to furnish a brand new condominium.

“John said it was going to be a great investment for Julius because he owned the condominium building,” said Zuckerman, counsel to Jones. “He took him at his word.”

Jones said he went ahead with the investment, then heard nothing more about it.

“I had full faith and confidence in him. I wasn't going to badger him,” Jones said.

Jones only started “badgering” Yanopoulos a year and a half ago, when he allegedly stopped returning his calls and texts.

“The relationship went from seeing each other weekly and going on vacation to, 'I'm hitting you up, texting you, calling you and getting no response,'” Jones said.

But Yanopoulos has a different take on what happened. When reached for comment Wednesday, he said he was unaware of the lawsuit.

His attorney, Dino Galardi of the Galardi Law Firm in Coral Gables, envisions a positive outcome for both parties.

“It was a friendship thing, and he's paying him back. Yanopoulos has fallen on some hard times lately, but he fully intends on honoring his deal, like he's done on every deal he's ever been involved in,” Galardi said.

Segal and Zuckerman plan to back up Jones' allegations through depositions and bank records.

“Luckily, this isn't one of those lawsuits where it's 50/50 as to who's right, who's wrong. There's no doubt. The promissory note says it. The bank records show it,” Segal said.

Ultimately, Jones sees the suit as a last resort.

“This is the last thing that I wanted to do,” Jones said. “I don't like court. This is not how I wanted it to end at all. This is me at the end of the rope trying to make sure that I don't get screwed over.”

 

Read Julius Jones' complaint, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court: