According to the Miami NBC affiliate, The family believed they were making "safe low-risk retirement investments" and had been provided with timetables showing where they would be repaid with interest. However, nothing was paid back despite continued attempts to reach Garcia Johnson. The decision to invest was made after Michael Costa befriended Garcia Johnson while working at her investment firm.
Dwayne Johnson was named as "co-conspirator" in the case, but is not being sued. The lawsuit alleged that the Johnsons became close with the Costas when there was money to be made, using that friendship and Rock's celebrity status to "legitimize" the investment.
Garcia Johnson’s attorney Richard Barbara told the NBC affiliate, “There were a lot of people and a lot of banks who suffered as a function of what happened to the real estate market. We feel that is the true source of what created the issues here.†He also noted that Costa's grandson was "intimately familiar" with the investments and this wasn't a case of someone handing money over without understanding of the situation.
Barbara noted that both companies that are being sued had already filed for bankruptcy due the current economic malaise.
To read the NBC Miami affiliate story on the lawsuit, click here.
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