- New court papers accuse the husband of "My Unorthodox Life" star Julia Haart of using company funds on extravagant purchases and trips.
- Silvio Scaglia's attorney denied the allegations in a statement to Insider.
Explosive new court documents allege that Silvio Scaglia, the wealthy husband of Julia Haart, the star of the Netflix reality show "My Unorthodox Life," used money from their joint modeling company to make extravagant purchases — including a $342,000 heart-shaped engagement ring for his new fiancée.
It's the latest salvo in a series of ongoing legal battles related to the ex-couple's prior business ventures and dissolving marriage.
In an affidavit filed in the New York State Supreme Court on Friday and reviewed by Insider, Scaglia's former executive assistant, Tania Cohen, alleged that Scaglia spent over $25 million from the couple's joint company, Elite World Group (EWG).
Scaglia — who is embroiled in a divorce battle with Haart — had previously filed two lawsuits against Haart claiming she misappropriated millions in company funds from EWG for her own personal use.
Both lawsuits were later dismissed with prejudice as part of a settlement agreement that did not include any payments by either side, according to court papers reviewed by Insider.
But the new affidavit made by Cohen alleges Scaglia was the one misusing funds.
Cohen alleges that Scaglia spent EWG money on the engagement ring for his now-fiancée, $132,435 for yacht trips in Tahiti, and $400,000 on a "lavish" yacht trip in Italy.
He also allegedly used EWG funds to pay $43,000 per month in rent for a New York City Apartment and $272,971.87 to purchase a Bentley Bantayga for his fiancée, among other expenses listed, according to the court papers.
Scaglia's attorney, Peter Bicks, a partner at law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, denied that the fashion mogul spent money inappropriately in a statement to Insider and called Haart a "serial litigant."
A spokesperson for Haart, in response, said that characterization is false.
Bicks said Scaglia's purchases were "entirely appropriate and applied against fees owed to him by the companies that he founded and invested over $100 million of his own funds into."
He also said Cohen was under a confidentiality agreement with EWG and "it is unfortunate that she has chosen to disregard it and disclose personal information."
Cohen said she began working for Scaglia as an executive assistant to him across all of his business endeavors in January 2022.
While she was in close company with Scaglia, she never knew his wife Haart until one month ago, because Scaglia told her, "we are partners but we operate separately and lead separate lives," according to the affidavit.
"Prior to December 15, 2022, I had never met or spoken to Ms. Haart," Cohen wrote in the affidavit.
She said their first contact was when she resigned from working for Scaglia, at which point she sent a text message to Haart about Scaglia's finances.
"I am coming forward because after realizing that Mr. Scaglia was not being honest, while attempting to destroy an innocent woman (Ms. Haart), I felt it was the right thing to come forward and tell the truth," Cohen wrote in the affidavit.
"During my time as Mr. Scaglia's Executive Assistant, I observed that Silvio was not telling the truth about his actions, nor his financial situation," Cohen wrote. "Although Mr. Scaglia claims that EWG is massively in debt, it is Mr. Scaglia who has been engaging in excessive spending of EWG money for his personal use."
Cohen — in an interview with Insider and in the affidavit — alleged that Scaglia was set on seizing Haart's car, also a Bentley, because he claimed Haart had paid for it with EWG funds and — since Haart was fired by Scaglia in February 2022 — it no longer belonged to her.
Cohen alleged in an interview with Insider that Scaglia's behavior became "irrational," "volatile," and "insane" when he ordered Cohen to sift through company correspondence to try to find proof that Haart had stolen money from the company to pay for her car among other items.
Cohen told Insider that while digging for information about the Bentley purchase to get it for Scaglia, she found that Haart had paid for the Bentley using a $112,000 credit she received for trading in her Range Rover.
She said Haart continued to put down monthly payments on her car using her own money.
"Everything was above board," Cohen told Insider. "Everything was in company emails. Every purchase, every everything, every audit was approved, every purchase was approved," referring to budgets Haart was appropriated for "My Unorthodox Life."
At the time of Haart's termination, Cohen alleged Scaglia cut off her access to email, credit cards, and let go of her entire team.
The allegations in court are the latest in a series of grueling legal fights between the couple. Haart sued Scaglia for $275 million, calling him a "liar and a fraud" who took her businesses, People reported.
In May 2022, Haart lost a lawsuit in which she claimed to own 50% of EWG, according to Page Six.
Page Six reported at the time that Haart had sued after she was fired from the company, saying that because she was a co-owner, she couldn't have been let go.
In a termination letter filed as part of a court proceeding, Scaglia and the company's deputy chairman accused Haart of spending more than $30 million on personal expenditures and say she was fired in part because the digital division she ran never turned a profit and that the brand's modeling contest "completely lost its relevance" while she was at the helm.
Update January 13, 2023: This story was updated with information about a settlement agreement to dismiss two earlier lawsuits between Scaglia's companies and Haart.