Lawsuit: Fabián Basabe Has My Land Rovers!

It has been a rough few months for former reality television star and newly elected Florida Rep. Fabián Basabe.

In his first legislative session, the socialite turned politician faced calls to resign from constituents who said he broke campaign promises by voting in line with Gov. Ron DeSantis' anti-LGBTQ agenda, supporting permitless carry and skipping out on the vote for the six-week abortion ban.

Besides being scrutinized for his voting record in the statehouse, the Miami Beach representative was accused of slapping his 25-year-old aide across the face during a reception in Tallahassee. The investigation is ongoing.

Now, he is being sued in Miami-Dade County court for allegedly failing to uphold his end of an investment deal involving classic 1990s-era Land Rovers.

Paolo Aliatis, a self-described "serial entrepreneur" in the United Kingdom, claims in the lawsuit that Basabe did not follow through on a December 2020 business venture under which the pair would import five used Land Rover Defenders from the UK, sell them in the United States, and split the profits.

According to the lawsuit, Aliatis was responsible for purchasing and shipping the vehicles to Basabe in Florida. Basabe, in turn, would sell them in the U.S. for at least $25,000 apiece.

Aliatis paid more than $87,000 to buy and ship the cars to Florida. They arrived in Jacksonville on March 1, 2021, after which Basabe had to pay $4,623 to retrieve them. According to the lawsuit, the Land Rovers were officially ready for sale on April 9 of that year after passing Department of Motor Vehicles inspections.

But months passed with little progress, and Aliatis learned Basabe hadn't sold any of the vehicles, the pleading claims. Instead, Aliatis says, he learned Basabe was driving one of the three cars in Florida for personal use, and two of the other Rovers were sitting in a storage facility in California.

In text messages included in the complaint, Basabe claimed the cars were "really junk," and he didn't have time "to deal with them." He said they had mechanical problems and were unreliable during potential buyers' test drives.

"When you and my dad talked about the car situation, I thought I was getting some really cool cars that my really cool friends would wanna just buy...," reads a screenshot of a WhatsApp message Basabe sent in November 2021.

"Distressed by the unexpected turn of events," Aliatis visited Basabe in late December 2022 and made some shocking discoveries, he claims. He felt Basabe was "either mismanaging" his end of the partnership or "actively sabotaging the same."

The lawsuit alleges Aliatis learned one of the Land Rovers was sitting on the street in front of Basabe's parents' house in poor condition with its cabin top and doors removed, leaving it exposed to the elements. Another of the vehicles was at a repair shop dissembled, and its parts were used on other cars that weren't part of the deal, according to the complaint.

"[Basabe's] actions greatly reduced the value of the vehicle," the lawsuit reads. "[Basabe] refused to take responsibility for his actions and further declined to take any measures to mitigate losses to the venture."

The third vehicle in Florida, Aliatis says, was in "decent" condition." He claims Basabe and his family were using it for personal use.

"[Basabe] surreptitiously converted the vehicle to his personal use and that of his family," the complaint adds. "[Basabe's] deception and self-interested actions in this regard delayed the sale of the vehicle."

In response to the allegations, Basabe tells New Times more attention should be placed on his accomplishments in the legislature rather than tearing him apart.

"It's no secret there's a target on my back," Basabe tells New Times. "The plaintiff threatened to embarrass me while in office if I didn't pay for his own mistakes, which is extortion no matter how one may choose to interpret the law. I'll happily take the hits and see them in court, which will cost more, but I will win in the end."

Aliatis says he and Basabe agreed that Aliatis would retake possession of the three Land Rovers from Florida to try and recover as much of the initial investment as possible. He claims he eventually sold the three Land Rovers for $8,500, $16,000, and $22,000, much less than the $25,000 he originally aimed for.

In a text message to Basabe, Aliatis said he "still cannot understand what happened to these cars."

Following the sale of those vehicles, Aliatis turned his attention to the two Land Rovers in California. He says he learned on August 28, 2022, that those two vehicles were amassing $200 monthly in storage fees. The lawsuit claims Basabe refused "to assume his share of the losses" and told Aliatis he is keeping the two California vehicles to cover his investment.

"The vehicles are now on the other side of the country incurring monthly storage fees with no plan to sell them," the complaint adds.

In a November 2022 letter, Fabian's father sent Aliatis a note saying that Fabian did not agree to split any losses on the deal. The letter argued that it was Aliatis' "decision alone" to sell the three Land Rovers at low prices.