Jeffrey Epstein’s friend and owner of Serafina Italian restaurant chain is sued by ex-wife and accused of sexual harassment by his step-daughter
An Israeli businessman and friend of Jeffrey Epstein is facing sexual harassment claims amid an acrimonious divorce and multiple lawsuits.
Benny Shabtai, 74, filed for divorce from his wife of eight years, 62-year-old Stacey Cooper Shabtai, last October.
The couple and Shabtai’s stepdaughter, Samantha Cooper, 36, acquired the operating rights in 2016 to run Florida versions of the Serafina restaurant chain, frequented by celebrities like the Kardashians and Victoria Beckham.
Shortly after the divorce filing, Shabtai fired Cooper from her role as manager of Serafina Miami. Now the 36-year-old is suing her stepfather, accusing him of sexual harassment.
She alleged that he required her to dress “sexily” while at work and “regularly touched her in inappropriate places, in an unwanted and unwanted manner.”
Benny Shabtai, 74, is at the center of a legal battle with his ex-wife of eight years, Stacey Cooper Shabtai (left) and stepdaughter
Shabtai’s stepdaughter, 36-year-old Samantha Cooper, has accused him of sexual misconduct in a bombshell lawsuit
The multimillionaire is a friend of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who traveled to Tel Aviv to meet him fifteen years ago
In court documents, Cooper claimed the multi-millionaire threatened to make her go ‘missing’ because of his ties to Israeli spies.
“He traveled to Israel with his close friend Jeffrey Epstein, where they had secret meetings with the Israeli military to fund covert operations, allowing Samantha Cooper to be harmed and get away with it if she didn’t do what he said. ‘ it says in the suit.
In 2008, Page Six reported on Epstein’s trip to Tel Aviv, where he met with Israeli scientists about medical research he was funding and toured military bases with Shabtai.
At the time, Epstein was embroiled in controversy after being accused of soliciting underage prostitutes. He was later given an 18-month prison sentence.
Speaking to the New York Post, Shabtai emphasized that Epstein “never introduced him to girls.”
“I didn’t know anything about it,” he said of the sex trafficking ring. ‘I’ve never seen a girl in that house in my life. I knew about it when he was charged.”
Shabtai’s name appears on page 49 of the infamous ‘Little Black Book’ with two telephone numbers listed.
The multi-millionaire has also been accused of sexual harassment by Giuliana Roncarati Gotera, a former manager at Serafina Miami.
In an affidavit filed as part of Samantha’s countersuit, Gotera alleged that Shabtai “touched” her and made her feel “uncomfortable.”
Shabtai filed for divorce from his ex-wife in October 2022
The businessman’s name appears in Epstein’s infamous ‘Black Book’, on the same page as Maria Shriver, member of the Kennedy family and ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Cooper (second from left) claims her stepfather required her to dress ‘sexy’ while at work and ‘regularly touched her in inappropriate places’
The couple and Cooper acquired the operating rights to run Florida versions of the Serafina restaurant chain in 2016
Cooper Shabtai accuses her ex-husband of failing to divide years of profits among herself, her daughter and a former business partner
Amid the divorce, Shabtai’s ex-wife has also filed a lawsuit, claiming he failed to distribute years of profits to herself, her daughter and former business partner Michael Baccaro.
Instead, he kept the money for himself, the indictment alleges.
Born in Tel Aviv, Shabtai moved to the United States after serving his reserve assignment in the Israeli army.
He founded Raywond Weil USA, a watch import company, in 1977 and served as its executive distributor until selling the company in 2009.
In 2019, Shabtai was sued for misapplying a $1.7 million donation intended for Yale’s Jewish community for the renovation of a historic mansion near campus. The suit was later dropped.
Forbes valued the Shabtai family at $920 million in 2022, largely due to the sale of their controlling stake in Viber, the Israeli instant-messaging app.
Shabtai sold his 55.2 percent stake in the company in 2014 for $496 million.