Michael Stern Sued Again By Italian Investor, Who Wants $42.5M
An Italian entrepreneur filed his second lawsuit against developer Michael Stern alleging that he was fraudulently induced to invest in three high-profile Miami projects.
GV Development Group LLC, an entity controlled by Gianluca Vacchi, filed a lawsuit last month in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court against Stern and 12 entities he manages. The suit alleges that Stern was using new investments to put money into other projects, and his own pocket, labeling it an “apparent Ponzi scheme.”
Despite claiming that funds were diverted, the suit does not explain where the money went.
Vacchi claims that Stern pitched him on three Miami real estate projects, and he ultimately invested $30M in Mercedes-Benz Places Miami, $25M in the Dolce & Gabbana-branded 888 Brickell and $2.5M in the Casablanca project on Miami Beach, all in 2024.
Vacchi alleged that Stern didn't accurately represent the financial pressures two of the projects faced and asked that Stern be removed from his position of control over the under-construction Mercedes-Benz Places Miami project. He is also seeking repayment of his $42.5M investment.
“Vacchi hopes, by Stern’s removal, that he can protect future investors from the same fate,” the lawsuit states.
Cottonwood Group, the lender that purchased the $86M loan on the Mercedes-Benz-branded condo tower, filed to foreclose in April, claiming that Stern failed to repay the loan upon its maturity date at the beginning of 2025. Stern fired back at the lender in May, claiming that it used confidential information about the project to negotiate and communicate with the original lender and violated the terms of a nondisclosure agreement.
Fontainebleau Development’s Jeff Soffer has since stepped up as a partner on the project as Stern closes in on $1B in financing, The Real Deal reported.
The Dolce & Gabbana condo tower is facing a $500K lawsuit from One Sotheby's, which claims that it presold 36 of the 250 units in the development but wasn't paid their commission, TRD reported.
Vacchi claimed that Stern "recently agreed" to introduce potential investors and lenders for two of the projects and agreed to pay him $3.25M in connection with the sale of 44 units within the Casablanca.
In a statement shared with Bisnow, a JDS Development spokesperson said the firm expects the lawsuit to be dismissed, claiming that Vacchi failed to meet financial obligations for the projects due to liquidity problems and a lack of real estate knowledge.
“JDS advanced millions of dollars to cover Vacchi's persistent shortfalls and gave him ample opportunity to make good on his repeated promises to fund his share of the ventures, which he never did,” the spokesperson said. “Vacchi simply didn't meet his end of the bargain and refuses to accept the contractual consequences, and as a result is resorting to what he knows best — a publicity stunt with no substance.”
This is the second suit Vacchi has filed against the developer since he invested in Stern's $4B, 1,150-unit condo project pipeline in South Florida. Vacchi did so through the U.S. real estate arm of his Italian company, Cofiva Holdings, GV Development.
The 58-year-old, who is also a public figure and DJ with more than 20 million followers on instagram and 595,000 listeners on Spotify, also invested in 1250 West Ave. in Miami Beach, which is now a joint venture with Terra Group.
By December 2025, Vacchi filed a suit against Stern and two related entities over a $2M investment he made in 2024 toward the redevelopment of the Casablanca condo building in Miami Beach.
The entrepreneur alleged that Stern provided a third-party evaluation to acquire the land, which led to an additional investment, and refused to provide documentation of membership. The dispute stalled in April, according to the filings.
Neither Vacchi nor his attorneys, Armstrong Teasdale’s Glen Waldman and Giller’s Jason Giller, responded to requests for comment.
“This is yet another frivolous and salacious lawsuit exclusively designed to create reputational damage in the media with no legal basis and this latest extortion attempt will fail again," JDS' spokesperson said in a statement. "The projects have moved on to secure the necessary financing to move forward and we look forward to the projects' successful completion."
Stern, known for New York City projects like the world's skinniest skyscraper on Billionaires' Row and Brooklyn's tallest tower, which he lost to lender Silverstein Properties, is also on a quest to unmask an anonymous operator behind the website JDSPulse.com over its online “smear campaign.”
