Former Actor Who Became a Crypto Evangelist Loses Beach Hotel in Feud

Brock Pierce, a crypto entrepreneur and former child actor who has poured millions into Puerto Rico real estate, is embroiled in a legal battle over one of his most valuable properties.

Pierce, chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, says a former business associate is trying to cheat him out of a ruined beach-side resort he bought on the island of Vieques in 2021, according to court documents. Companies owned by Pierce paid $18.3 million for about 80% of the property, once a W Hotel that has been closed since Hurricane Maria in 2017 and that he planned on reopening.

Pierce lost the property in November, sparking a legal dispute. The new owners say the transfer was legal and call his allegations “baseless.”

Pierce moved to Puerto Rico in 2017 and has championed the idea of the US territory as a crypto hub with lucrative tax breaks. Since then, firms linked to Pierce have bought at least six properties around Puerto Rico for about $35 million, records show, including a 124-year-old masonic lodge in Old San Juan that serves as his headquarters. A Pierce spokesperson said his total real estate spending is “significantly higher” but declined to provide a figure.

With the Vieques purchase, his goal was to restart a major “economic engine” for the local economy, Pierce said in an interview.

“This wasn’t a deal to make money,” he said.

The 43 year old, best known for starring in Disney’s The Mighty Ducks franchise, co-founded the cryptocurrency Tether, which he ceased to be involved with in 2015. He was also part of the first initial coin offering and said he currently dedicates much of his time to philanthropy.

He’s accusing a former family friend, Joseph Lipsey III, of sabotaging his Vieques’ plans.

In a Dec. 19 complaint, Pierce alleges Lipsey offered him a $10 million line of credit to be used, in part, to buy the outstanding stake in the resort. Once that sale was agreed upon, Pierce says Lipsey’s lawyers informed him that he’d missed a deadline to complete the transaction and that they were seizing the entire property as collateral.

Pierce is asking for $80 million in damages and for the courts to reverse the transfer to VRRRF, a company where Lipsey is CEO.

“We categorically deny any insinuation or accusation that casts any doubt on the personal or professional integrity of any of the members of VRRRF and its officials,” Pedro Piquer, VRRRF’s secretary, said in a statement. Lipsey’s lawyer declined to comment.

Pierce’s other Puerto Rico properties include a historic building in Old San Juan that remains shuttered and a nearby digital-art gallery. He also owns real estate in the wealthy enclave of Dorado. He blames the pandemic for delaying his search for permanent tenants for some of his properties and says the legal troubles in Vieques derailed plans to announce the reopening of the resort.

While Puerto Rico was hit by the fallout of crypto’s reckoning since 2022, Pierce is confident the industry has staying power on the island.

“It’s an incredible community of some of the best builders and creators I know that are agents of change,” he said. “I think it’s thriving.”

Related posts:

Thailand opens doors to retail investments in infrastructure-backed digital tokens Former IcomTech CEO sentenced to five years in prison for wire fraud Tokenization in 2024 – Exchanges Need To Build Trust FTX Estate Selling Crypto, Hoarding Cash To Pay Out Customer Claims: Report