ST. THOMAS — Brett “Mac” McClafferty, co-owner of St. Thomas Social in Yacht Haven Grande, recently settled an eviction complaint against the Mediterranean and Caribbean restaurant after reaching an agreement with his landlord, Yacht Haven USVI LLC, that concluded with the legal matter being dismissed.
While McClafferty reached a resolution that resulted with Yacht Haven USVI dismissing its complaint for eviction, the private equity investor is named as a defendant in a new civil complaint alleging he defrauded another investor as part of a Ponzi scheme, according to court documents.
McClafferty, managing director of both Mac Private Equity and The McClafferty Family Foundation, is accused by more than a dozen plaintiffs in multiple local and federal lawsuits of operating a Ponzi scheme through his firm, Mac Private Equity, and its subsidiary, MPE Clearing & Holdings Inc.
Plaintiffs allege McClafferty solicited investments by promising high returns but failed to repay investors, instead using funds from new investors to pay earlier ones. McClafferty subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection under his firm’s name in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on March 4.
Restaurant eviction:
St. Thomas Social faced eviction from Yacht Haven Grande because the restaurant allegedly owed $198,000 in charges for past due rent, interest, late fees, and utilities.
Yacht Haven USVI, owner and landlord of the Charlotte Amalie shopping center, filed a complaint for eviction against Social Hospitality Group Inc. d/b/a St. Thomas Social on May 29 through attorney Matthew Duensing.
READ MORE: “St. Thomas Social faces eviction from Yacht Haven Grande for allegedly owing $198,000 in charges”
Yacht Haven USVI filed a separate complaint, an action for debt, June 3 in Superior Court against St. Thomas Social claiming the restaurant failed to pay all amounts owed under the lease.
As of June 1, St. Thomas Social allegedly owed $198,272.29, which will continue to accrue late fees and charges. The restaurant’s annual base rent is $98,700, including $84,000 for the commercial space and $14,700 for a storage area, as outlined in the five-year lease, which commenced on December 1, 2022.
St. Thomas Social subsequently accepted an offer to resolve all lease issues with Yacht Haven USVI, attorney Christopher Kroblin, who represents McClafferty, announced in a statement.
Kroblin declined to discuss the offer that St. Thomas Social accepted. McClafferty would not discuss it either.
“It’s been completely resolved, but I can’t go into specifics,” McClafferty said.
Duensing filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the eviction complaint on behalf of Yacht Haven USVI Monday in Superior Court. Duensing indicated in the notice that St. Thomas Social had not submitted an answer or motion for summary judgment. The notice of voluntary dismissal was made to dismiss the action for eviction without prejudice pursuant to Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i), which permits a plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss an action without a court order by filing a notice of dismissal before the opposing party serves either an answer or a motion for summary judgment. Since the action for eviction was dismissed without prejudice, it could be refiled.
Ponzi scheme:
McClafferty is accused of relocating to the Virgin Islands to steal money from residents by implementing a fraudulent scheme after his release from prison in his native Ohio following a conviction of grand theft and cocaine possession, according to the latest complaint alleging he operated a Ponzi scheme that was filed June 4 in Superior Court.
In the new complaint, plaintiff Aaron Wallens, a VI resident, accuses McClafferty of failing to make a single investment despite soliciting $40,000 from him to invest. Wallens claims McClafferty spent the fraudulently obtained money on personal expenses for himself, his girlfriend, and his family members. The complaint alleges multiple counts, including breach of agreement, breach of contract, and fraudulent misrepresentation.
The complaint brought by Wallens is among multiple lawsuits alleging McClafferty operated a Ponzi scheme that have been filed throughout the past year in Superior Court and District Court by attorney Michael Sheesley.
McClafferty, who denied all allegations that he operated a Ponzi scheme, said Sheesley has gotten nowhere with the claims. He noted his attorney, Kroblin, filed a motion to dismiss the case brought by plaintiff Daniel McCoy and six others on April 4 because the complaint failed to name Mac Private Equity as a defendant. McClafferty suggested Sheesley omitted Mac Private Equity as a defendant to circumvent the U.S. Bankruptcy Court as the firm proceeds with its bankruptcy case.
Mac Private Equity is not named as a defendant in the complaint brought by Wallens either. The firm, however, is named as a defendant in three different District Court cases brought by plaintiffs Glenn and Victoria Blandford, Antonio Ramos and Johelly Mercado, and Alex Gibson, and two different Superior Court cases brought by plaintiffs Greg Bowen and Brady Sweet. All of the complaints claim McClafferty operated a Ponzi scheme.
In the case brought by Gibson on April 1, 2024, Chief Judge Robert Molloy awarded final judgement on October 29, 2024 against McClafferty, Mac Private Equity and MPE Clearing & Holdings in the amount of $215,000. Judgment against McClafferty was for $110,000, while judgment against Mac Private Equity and MPE Clearing & Holdings was for $105,000.
As the other cases proceed, McClafferty said the claims alleged by all the plaintiffs in the complaints that Sheesley filed are similar.
“He’s going out there lining people up to sue like he’s selling timeshares,” McClafferty said about Sheesley.
Sheesley declined to comment on the matter. He did, however, clarify he is not the only attorney who has filed a complaint against McClafferty.
Attorney Kevin Rames filed a complaint against McClafferty, Mac Private Equity, and MPE Clearing & Holdings on December 9, 2024 in District Court. Although it does not allege a Ponzi scheme, the complaint brought by plaintiff Anthony D’Iorio, a lender, claims D’Iorio loaned funds to McClafferty’s companies but McClafferty failed to repay everything owed. D’Iorio, who alleges four counts including breach of contract, claims McClafferty owes him $119,406.25.
