New reports claim that billionaire George Soros has offered his ex-girlfriend Adriana Ferreyr $250,000 to “persuade her” to drop a $50 million lawsuit.
Brazilian actress Adriana Ferreyr, 28, launched legal proceedings against George Soros, 81, in August 2011 after he allegedly broke a promise to buy her a $1.9 million apartment in Manhattan, New York.
The staggering lawsuit said Adriana Ferreyr was emotionally tortured, harassed and abused by George Soros, who denies all the claims – during an alleged fight when he told her he had given the apartment to another lover.
Now it has emerged that, when Adriana Ferreyr threatened to take him to court, George Soros approached his former lover’s lawyer cousin Mauricio Carneiro with a cash offer.
An email obtained by the New York Daily News, from George Soros’ lawyer William Zabel to Mauricio Carnerio, is reported to have made the offer.
It is said to have said: “Pursuant to your conversation with George Soros… I understand you may wish to be helpful with the situation.”
Mauricio Carneiro replied that he “could not be bought” and was “shocked that George called me to offer me $250,000 in order to get my sympathy, get rid of her lawyers and settle the case”.
William Zabel admitted that the email had been sent, but that it was not a bribe.
The lawyer told the New York Daily News: “George had met him before and he liked him. He had reached out to him because he is a lawyer and a relative and he hoped to settle the case before it went to court. It is in no way a bribe.”
Adriana Ferryr broke her silence in August about her 5-year relationship with George Soros, known as the Man Who Broke the Bank of England after making millions during the 1992 UK currency crisis.
Despite their 53-year age gap, Adriana Ferreyr insisted their relationship was “respectful and loveable” before the acrimonious split, followed by her allegations of physical abuse.
Adriana Ferreyr, a former child actor and star of Portuguese McDonald’s commercials, first met George Soros five years ago. She told the New York Post: “For five years, he was my boyfriend. He was respectful and loveable. Then, suddenly, he changed and became cruel. I don’t know why he would do this to me.
“He treated me with a lot of respect. When we first started dating, I would see him every weekend at his house in Bedford. He was very nice, very sweet, very loveable… We travelled and went to St Bart’s.
“As far as I was concerned, this was a proper, loving, committed relationship. He introduced me to people as his girlfriend after a year. We attended events. I met his friends. I met his business associates.
“Some people don’t understand the age difference, but for me, it wasn’t a problem. I wouldn’t go out with a muscular guy who has tattoos, but I wouldn’t call other people strange because they have different taste than me.
“He is a likeable person. He is outspoken. I spent a lot of time with him, and I had a lot of feelings for him. We had a happy, normal relationship.”
Adriana Ferreyr said she was monogamous during their time together, and was hoping to “settle down” with George Soros, who she said never lavished her with money or gifts during their first few years together.
Eventually, however, Adriana Ferreyr said he offered to buy her an apartment. And she found her “dream home” – a $1.9million condo at 30 E 85th St – just two streets from him.
“I did a lot of research on it. I made sure it was a good investment. I explained to him what good a deal it was, why I loved it, why it would be a great place to live…. He told me, <<I am going to buy it. I am going to do this for you>>,” she said.
Adriana Ferreyr claims the day after they signed off on the paperwork in December, George Soros had a change of heart, and offered the apartment to 39-year-old Tamiko Bolton, described as his “travelling nurse”.
“We were in bed, and he just replied coldly and bluntly that he had given (the apartment) to his other girlfriend. I got emotional and cried… He just said, <<I don’t care>>. I was in bed with him. It was horrifying for me,” Adriana Ferreyr said.
She has also claimed that George Soros slapped her in the face and attempted to choke her as they argued over the property in bed together.
According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, in the inevitable row which followed: “Soros slapped Ferreyr across the face and proceeded to put his hands around her neck in an attempt to choke her.”
Adrian Ferreyr claims she managed to evade him and picked up a glass lamp to protect herself. George Soros then allegedly grabbed the lamp and tried to hit her with it, narrowly missing.
The actress claims she ran into the office next to George Soros’s bedroom and called police. According to the lawsuit, Adriana Ferreyr claims George Soros twice broke promises to buy her flats in the building – once again after a brief reconciliation.
“When… I saw him again, he was loving. We got back together and started dating again. Then he invited me for tea at his house. He said to me, ‘Go look for an apartment. I owe you an apartment anyway,” the actress told the Post.
Adriana Ferreyr said she found a $4.3 million apartment in the same building. But when she told him about it he pretended to know nothing about it. To make matters worse, Adriana Ferryr and Tamiko Bolton now live in the same New York apartment block.
And after learning his ex was going to rent a flat in the same building anyway, George Soros hired private security men to “follow and intimidate:”her, Adriana Ferreyr claims.
According to Adriana Ferreyr’s suit, George Soros “not only breached his multiple promises…but he proceeded to engage in a deliberate and malicious campaign of extreme and outrageous harassment and intimidation against Ferreyr, which has directly resulted in her suffering and continuing to suffer severe emotional distress and damages”.
Adriana Ferreyr claims their confrontation traumatized her to the point she was “unable to function in her day-to-day life” and that she has since had to have treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Her lawyer, Robert Hantman, said it was unfortunate she had to resort to court action as she had hoped to settle the dispute privately. He said: “It’s 1/7000th of his wealth. She just wants what he promised her.”
George Soros strongly denies the allegations.
William Zabel, George Soros’s lawyer, called the suit “frivolous and entirely without merit”.
Although William Zabel admitted his client had an “on-again, off-again” relationship with Adriana Ferreyr, he said the complaint was “riddled with false charges and is obviously an attempt to extract money from my client, who is known to be a very rich man”.
William Zabel added: “The police investigated the incident referred to and concluded that no assault occurred. George Soros did not slap, choke or throw a lamp at her.”
A source close to George Soros, whose birthday was yesterday, said: “This is nothing but a woman scorned who is out to get paid. These claims are outrageous and he will seek to dismiss them at the earliest opportunity.
“George is dealing with this well – this is a man who survived the Holocaust. The suggestion he attacked her is without merit.”
Adriana Ferreyr remains undetoured.
“George is so powerful he thinks he can get rid of anyone he wants. But I am not going away. I am going to fight,” she told the Post.
George Soros’s private life is rarely touched on in the U.S.
Married and twice divorced, George Soros has five children. In the past few years, his reported girlfriends have included the violinist Jennifer Chun and former Miss Russia Anna Malova.
I know these wealthy types. When they say it’s nothing; I’m here to tell you… they are cheap. He was just toying with her… because it made him feel powerful. He may have felt she was a gold digger; so he beat her at her own game. The problem is that they are frequently wrong and evil; yet it never occurs to them. I love how he always bring up the Holocaust card though. It was people like george whom controlled 4 of 5 of the central banks that led to the ill feelings. Amazing how a few people can ruin it for so many others… especially if they are evil. Someone tell me this guy sits around and studies the Torah. Ya right.