Former “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills” star Brendan Fitzpatrick built a public image around being wealthy.
The privileged party boy who first rose to fame on the hit E! reality series, “Rich Kids of Beverly Hills,” famously posed up in fancy cars, briefly married fellow reality star Morgan Stewart and got a hair transplant on TV.
Now, The Post can reveal that the 37-year-old Palm Beach-based realtor is being accused in a number of lawsuits of scamming wealthy businessmen out of more than $80 million, in an alleged Ponzi scheme and a fraudulent property development.
Alleged victims claimed in a lawsuit that Fitzpatrick’s company, Carbonatik LLC — a Sri Lanka-based mining venture — was a front, advertising returns of 120% on investments while not actually existing.
Carbonatik’s allegedly duped victims include a former childhood friend and various entrepreneurs who claim to have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the company.
One supporter even claimed he wrote letters to President Trump on behalf of Fitzpatrick’s venture, and campaigned to high-level military officials — documents that have been reviewed by the Post— that the venture had found the solution to the energy crisis.
Numerous court cases have stacked up against Fitzpatrick and Carbonatik— many of which include claims of fabricated bank statements, appraisals and letters of intent.
The Post can also reveal a further court case, this time against Fitzpatrick and a failed property venture of his in Greece, for which he is being sued for an eye-watering $74 million.
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick, 37, continues to post glamorous photos of his Canadian billionaire heiress wife Chloe Fitzpatrick and young daughter — and their luxury life in Palm Beach.
A connected entrepreneur who looked the part
For Richard Segerson, a third-generation Palm Beach business owner and investor, Fitzpatrick appeared to be a connected entrepreneur who had built a profile as a realtor at the reputable global firm The Agency, founded by fellow reality Maurio Umansky.
“He wore the part — American Express platinum card to buy us lunches and drove a Range Rover,” he told The Post.
The two met in early 2024. Fitzpatrick spoke of having significant capital at his disposal and, at one point, described himself as on a “buying spree,” according to Segerson.
Over time, Segerson claims Fitzpatrick introduced the concept of Carbonatik, a mining venture founded by Fitzpatrick and his business partner, Dr. Joseph Swaminathan, in 2022, that he claimed controlled valuable graphite assets in Sri Lanka.
It was an opportunity that Segerson immediately knew his longtime friend and commodities entrepreneur, Dave Smith, would be interested in.
“He solicited us for an investment in the company and acted like he was doing us this huge favor,” Smith told The Post.
By early 2025, Segerson and Smith had invested $500,000 into Carbonatik.
They allege they were told to expect 120 percent returns as soon as July of that year, and received robust documentation, including appraisals, letters of intent, assets, and financial statements to bolster claims that major returns were near, according to court exhibits reviewed by The Post.
Investors were convinced to hand over a ton of money to the company
“He had us on the phone with the President of Sri Lanka, welcoming us into the family, and he had all this mining rights documentation, along with a $30,000-a-month office in Palm Beach, in my friend’s building, who legitimized that he prepaid a year in advance,” Segerson said.
According to court filings, interviews and internal documents reviewed by The Post, Carbonatik presented itself as a global mining and commodities company with ownership of over 20 “high-purity” graphite, copper and rare-earth mineral mines spanning Sri Lanka, Tanzania and India.
The increased demand for these minerals used in electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and national defense made this an extremely lucrative opportunity.
But a slew of investors claim Carbonatik fabricated bank statements, appraisals, and letters of intent, according to Florida court documents.
Investors, like Segerson and Smith, allege that Carbonatik’s claims and promise of returns of 120% almost immediately to stakeholders were persuasive enough to convince them to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into the company.
Some say it seemed plausible given the robust documentation Fitzpatrick and his company provided.
However, Seagerson claimed to The Post that doubts emerged almost immediately when a guarantee letter regarding his July returns supposedly never arrived.
“He was like, ‘Oh, of course, I’ve got $25 million set aside; I’ll send you the information. Never came,” Segerson alleged.
Text messages reviewed by The Post reveal months of back-and-forth conversations between Smith, Fitzpatrick, and Swaminathan seeking updates on financials, additional documents, and expected deliveries that failed to materialize.
In one particular text, Swaminathan references a “lot of misinformation” that had been boasted by Fitzpatrick.
According to Smith and Segerson, the more information they requested, the more inconsistencies they uncovered, even as they continued to court mineral buyers at lavish dinners and energy conferences, which cost them around $1 million.
“We were going to Mar-a-Lago and meeting these generals, and with the Defense Logistics Agency, and selling this stuff that they had no intention of delivering,” said Smith.
“They’re pissed off at us because this turned out to be fake, and these are serious people.
Investigations began
The turning point came in September 2025, when Smith — enraged by the lack of delivery of materials and returns on his half-million-dollar investment — began investigating Carbonatik’s operations independently.
He planned a 9-day trip to Tanzania, where he expected to verify mining-related claims about their operations and warehouses.
“Everything’s set up, and they’re supposed to pick me up Tuesday at the airport, but while I’m in flight, before I even get there, all of a sudden that changes,” Smith recalls, claiming that he was ghosted at the airport by a driver Swaminathan confirmed would pick him up.
“These bonded warehouses that they had mentioned, and the logistics companies, and all these contacts… nobody, there’s nothing there, they got nothing,” alleged Smith, who physically went to each location they believed to be in business only to discover they didn’t exist.
The lawsuit alleges that “defendants’ refusal or inability to show Smith any actual operations or genuine agreements is irreconcilable with their prior representations that they owned the Mannar Basin, controlled tens of millions of tons of reserves, maintained thousands of tons of above-ground inventory, had secured investor financing and a forthcoming $250 million credit line, and were “ready to . . . deliver” in 2025.”
Carbonatik submitted an answer denying all claims and counter-sued for various causes of action, including breach of contract, defamation, and tortious interference.
The lawsuits piled on
Around the same time, Smith and Segerson discovered a $4.4 million lawsuit filed in June 2025 in Sarasota, Florida, by a former investor, Adam Rapaport of Premiere Properties, against Carbonatik.
Court records showed that Carbonatik borrowed $1.9 million from Rapaport, a childhood friend of Fitzpatrick, between July and December 2024, before allegedly defaulting.
A final judgment reviewed by The Post shows the courts in favor of Premiere Properties for the entirety of $4,425,500.
But according to Smith and Segerson’s suit, Fitzpatrick repeatedly assured them that Carbonatik had substantial cash on hand.
A court-ordered garnishment of Carbonatik’s accounts, reviewed by The Post, showed that payments made to Carbonatik in February and March were, in fact, interest payments to Rappaport.
“The same day or the next day that I wired funds to Brendan for the same amount… he used our money to prepay a previous investor,” Smith claimed.
Despite cracks beginning to show, Fitzpatrick maintained his image of wealth and prestige, allegedly driving a modified Volkswagen Beetle pimped out to look like a Porsche — an item he later used as worthless collateral, according to the Premiere Properties suit.
“He was asking me for quotes to fly private to Europe,” Segerson recalled. “You haven’t paid me, and you’re looking for a $100,000 flight to Monte Carlo with your wife,” he claimed, adding that he has since seen Fitzpatrick around Palm Beach suited up, with flashy sunglasses and dining at expensive restaurants.
In November of 2025, Segerson and Smith filed suit against Carbonatik in Florida for their $500,000 investment and are currently awaiting trial.
Carbonatik filed a response to the suit, denying the claims, and a receiver has now been appointed for the company. Carbontatik further countersued for various claims, including defamation.
The Post reached out to Fitzpatrick and Swaminathan for comment, but at the time of reporting, they declined.
Letters were sent to President Trump on behalf of Fitzpatrick’s venture
Energy entrepreneur Jason Charles never officially invested in Carbonatik, though he estimates spending roughly $200,000 on travel expenses while losing credibility with his peers by promoting Carbonatik’s fabricated dreams.
After being introduced to Fitzpatrick through Segerson and the Palm Beach circle, Charles was eager to invest in resources during a time he says America was in a potential energy crisis.
Believing Carbonatik’s claims, Charles leveraged his own network on the company’s behalf.
“I literally was sending letters to President Trump,” Charles told The Post. “I went to Mar-a-Lago twice for Department of Defense meetings to tell them that we had access to these rare earth elements.”
“I’m trying to help the country,” he added. “I’ve literally had Dr. Joseph on calls with Raytheon [a major U.S. defense contractor].”
But eventually, promised reports, letters of intent, and financing failed to materialize, leading Charles to question whether the company possessed the assets it claimed.
All the while, Charles recalls Fitzpatrick as a “super slick dresser” garbed in custom, elegant suits, allegedly bragging about his baby’s $30,000 night nurse and his rent costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Once the facade fell, Charles was embarrassed that he trusted the smoke and mirrors, especially since he almost lost equity in his company for bringing an unvetted and unverified opportunity to his partners.
“I’ve lost a tremendous amount of time, a tremendous amount of credibility and respect,” Charles explained. “Ever since the day I met this guy, I’ve literally said he’s going to save America with the Chinese and rare earth elements, and all of it couldn’t have been more of a scam.”
Additional claims emerge: “He’s faked it his whole life”
While Fitzpatrick jets off to Monte Carlo for the summer, according to Smith, he leaves behind a slew of creditors pursuing his company for alleged additional unpaid debts.
In February 2026, four Belgian investors filed a lawsuit in London’s Commercial Court seeking approximately €64 million (roughly $70 million) in damages related to the Varko Bay hotel development project in Greece.
The suit names Carbonatik and Varko Luxco HoldCo S.à r.l., a Luxembourg-based private holding company associated with the project.
According to court filings reviewed by The Post, the plaintiffs allege they sold their interests in companies tied to the project but were not fully paid under the terms of the agreements.
The lawsuit claims Carbonatik sent a series of guarantee letters backing the investment and failed to follow through. As a result, the suit seeks damages for breach of contract exceeding €64 million ($74,182,400).
The plaintiff’s attorneys declined to comment on the case’s current status, but according to Smith, it remains ongoing.
That same month, court documents reviewed by The Post showed that a commodities data provider, Fastmarkets Global, filed suit against Carbonatik, alleging that the company failed to pay more than $10,000 for contracted services.
An interior design company went after Carbonatik around the same time, seeking $50,000 in damages after Fitzpatrick filed two separate credit card disputes for delivered furniture, which resulted in a refund of the hefty charges.
Even Chase Bank filed suit earlier this year for alleged unpaid credit card debt of $300,000, but the case has since been closed.
“He’s faked it his whole life,” said Smith. “He’s fake it till you make it.”