Former Rich Kids of Beverly Hills star Brendan Fitzpatrick once built his image around money, luxury and a glamorous lifestyle.
Now, the former reality TV personality and Palm Beach-based realtor is facing explosive allegations that he scammed wealthy businessmen out of more than $80 million through an alleged Ponzi scheme and a failed property development.
Fitzpatrick, 37, first became known to viewers as one of the privileged young stars of E!’s Rich Kids of Beverly Hills. He was seen posing with luxury cars, married fellow reality star Morgan Stewart and even got a hair transplant on camera.
But according to multiple lawsuits and investors who spoke with The Post, Fitzpatrick is now accused of using that polished image to win trust and money.
One case centers on Carbonatik LLC, a Sri Lanka-based mining venture founded by Fitzpatrick and business partner Dr. Joseph Swaminathan in 2022.
Alleged victims claim Carbonatik was pitched as a major mining and commodities company with valuable graphite, copper and rare-earth mineral assets across Sri Lanka, Tanzania and India.
Investors said they were promised returns of up to 120% and were shown documents that appeared to support the company’s claims, including appraisals, letters of intent, bank statements and mining rights paperwork.
But according to lawsuits, some of those documents were allegedly fabricated.
The alleged victims include entrepreneurs, former acquaintances and investors who say they poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Carbonatik.
One businessman, energy entrepreneur Jason Charles, said he never officially invested but spent about $200,000 on travel and suffered damage to his credibility after promoting Carbonatik to powerful contacts.
Charles said he even wrote letters to President Trump on behalf of the venture and attended meetings at Mar-a-Lago while pushing the idea that Carbonatik had access to rare-earth elements that could help solve energy and national defense problems.
“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.”
But Charles said the promised reports, financing and letters of intent never came through.
“I’ve lost a tremendous amount of time, a tremendous amount of credibility and respect,” he said. “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.”
For Palm Beach businessman and investor Richard Segerson, Fitzpatrick seemed like the real deal when they met in early 2024.
“He wore the part — American Express platinum card to buy us lunches and drove a Range Rover,” Segerson told The Post.
Segerson said Fitzpatrick presented himself as a connected entrepreneur with money and access. He was also working as a realtor with The Agency, the global luxury real estate firm founded by Mauricio Umansky.
Segerson later introduced Fitzpatrick’s mining opportunity to his longtime friend, commodities entrepreneur Dave Smith.
“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, Smith and Segerson had invested $500,000 in Carbonatik.
They claim they were told to expect 120% returns by July 2025 and were given what appeared to be extensive documentation showing major deals and assets.
According to Segerson, the presentation was convincing.
“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,” he said.
Carbonatik allegedly claimed it controlled more than 20 high-purity graphite, copper and rare-earth mineral mines. These minerals are in high demand because of their use in electric vehicles, AI infrastructure and national defense.
But investors said their doubts began quickly.
Segerson claimed a guarantee letter about his expected July returns never arrived.
“He was like, ‘Oh, of course, I’ve got $25 million set aside; I’ll send you the information,’” Segerson alleged. “Never came.”
Text messages reviewed by The Post reportedly show months of back-and-forth conversations among Smith, Fitzpatrick and Swaminathan as investors asked for updates, financials and deliveries that never materialized.
In one message, Swaminathan allegedly referred to a “lot of misinformation” that had been pushed by Fitzpatrick.
Smith said he and others continued attending energy conferences and lavish dinners while trying to court mineral buyers, spending about $1 million in the process.
“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,” Smith claimed. “They’re pissed off at us because this turned out to be fake, and these are serious people.”
The turning point came in September 2025, when Smith traveled to Tanzania for nine days to verify Carbonatik’s claimed operations and warehouses.
He said he was supposed to be picked up at the airport, but the plan suddenly changed while he was in flight.
Smith claimed he went to multiple locations connected to the company’s alleged operations and found nothing there.
“These bonded warehouses that they had mentioned, and the logistics companies, and all these contacts… nobody, there’s nothing there, they got nothing,” Smith alleged.
The lawsuit claims Carbonatik’s refusal or inability to show real operations contradicted its earlier claims that it owned the Mannar Basin, controlled massive mineral reserves, had thousands of tons of inventory and was ready to deliver in 2025.
Carbonatik has denied the claims and countersued, alleging breach of contract, defamation and tortious interference.
More lawsuits have also surfaced.
Smith and Segerson discovered that Premiere Properties had filed a $4.4 million lawsuit against Carbonatik in Sarasota, Florida, in June 2025. Court records showed Carbonatik had borrowed $1.9 million from the company’s founder between July and December 2024 before allegedly defaulting.
A final judgment reviewed by The Post showed the court sided with Premiere Properties for $4,425,500.
Smith and Segerson’s lawsuit claims Fitzpatrick had continued assuring them that Carbonatik had substantial cash on hand.
Smith alleged that money he wired to Fitzpatrick was used to pay interest to a previous investor.
“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.
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick allegedly continued projecting wealth.
Segerson claimed Fitzpatrick asked him for quotes for private flights to Europe even while he had not repaid him.
“You haven’t paid me, and you’re looking for a $100,000 flight to Monte Carlo with your wife,” Segerson said.
Fitzpatrick has continued posting glamorous images of life with his wife, Canadian billionaire heiress Chloe Fitzpatrick, and their young daughter in Palm Beach.
In November 2025, Smith and Segerson sued Carbonatik in Florida over their $500,000 investment. The case is awaiting trial. Carbonatik denied the claims, and a receiver has since been appointed for the company.
The Post said it reached out to Fitzpatrick and Swaminathan for comment, but they declined at the time of reporting.
The allegations do not stop with the mining venture.
In February 2026, four Belgian investors filed a lawsuit in London’s Commercial Court seeking about €64 million, or roughly $70 million, in damages tied to the Varko Bay hotel development project in Greece.
The lawsuit names Carbonatik and Varko Luxco HoldCo S.à r.l., a Luxembourg-based holding company associated with the project.
According to court filings reviewed by The Post, the plaintiffs allege they sold interests in companies tied to the project but were not fully paid under the agreements.
The lawsuit claims Carbonatik sent guarantee letters backing the investment but failed to follow through. The suit seeks damages for breach of contract exceeding €64 million, or about $74.1 million.
Additional lawsuits have also been filed.
Fastmarkets Global, a commodities data provider, sued Carbonatik earlier this year for allegedly failing to pay more than $10,000 for contracted services.
An interior design company also pursued Carbonatik for $50,000 in damages after Fitzpatrick allegedly disputed two credit card charges for delivered furniture, resulting in refunds.
Chase Bank filed a lawsuit over alleged unpaid credit card debt of $300,000, though that case has since been closed.
Smith said he now believes Fitzpatrick’s entire image was built on illusion.
“He’s faked it his whole life,” Smith said. “He’s fake it till you make it.”