MIAMI, May 15, 2026 — Solo attorney Josef Timlichman of Josef Timlichman Law, PLLC has secured a $47.83 million jury verdict on behalf of Miles Goldstein Real Estate, LLC, in a Miami-Dade County dispute arising from the sale of a multimillion-dollar property in Golden Beach. The verdict, returned yesterday after six years of litigation, found fraud in the inducement, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy by Reuben Ezekiel, R&R GB Investment Group, LLC, and Irene Ezekiel Ishay. The jury awarded $19.83 million in compensatory damages and $28 million in punitive damages — $18 million against Ezekiel personally and $10 million against R&R GB Investment Group.
The case is believed to be the first Florida real estate broker commission case in which a court authorized punitive damages to be submitted to a jury, and the first in which a jury has returned a punitive damages award on such claims.
Background
Plaintiff Miles Goldstein Real Estate is owned by Alexander Goldstein, a prominent South Florida broker focused on high-end residential transactions. In 2019, Goldstein introduced Ezekiel to a Golden Beach property and was negotiating the $2.8 million purchase on his behalf. After Goldstein conveyed the seller's number, Ezekiel terminated the broker relationship under false pretenses. Less than two hours later, he had submitted a new contract on the same property — using his sister, Irene Ezekiel Ishay, as the broker of record, for the purpose of diverting Goldstein's commission back to himself. The purchase was made in the name of R&R GB Investment Group, LLC — an entity that did not legally exist until five months after the wrongful conduct began.
Public pressure campaign and the court's response
During the course of litigation, Ezekiel appeared on Help Me Howard, the long-running consumer-affairs segment on Miami's WSVN Channel 7, making statements about Goldstein by name in what Plaintiff argued was an attempt to apply reputational pressure on Goldstein and shape public perception of the case.
Despite that public campaign, the Court ruled in Goldstein's favor on the dispositive issues. Following motion practice by Plaintiff's counsel, in a March 19, 2025 Order the Court found defendants' conduct "intentional, pre-planned, conceived" and characterized R&R GB Investment Group as a "fictitious corporation" — authorizing Plaintiff to seek punitive damages in what is believed to be the first such order in a Florida real estate commission case.
In a March 9, 2026 Order, the Court adjudicated that Goldstein was the procuring cause of the transaction and again characterized R&R as a "fictitious company." Defendants did not appeal either order. At trial, the jury did not credit Ezekiel's account and returned a verdict against him on every count submitted, including punitive damages. The case was tried before the Honorable Mavel Ruiz of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
"This case was about righting a wrong and sending a message. South Florida is a serious place, doing serious business at the highest levels. For too long, Florida has carried a stigma as a sunny place for shady people. We are not that. Brokers like Alex Goldstein, who built his career by playing it straight, should not have to watch their commission stolen through a fictitious LLC and a sister paid to pose as their replacement, or watch a defendant try to shape public opinion against them on local television during the case. The Court ruled in our favor twice. The jury saw it for what it was. The investors who finance these arrangements should take notice."
What's next
R&R GB Investment Group, LLC's members are matters of public record through filings with the Florida Division of Corporations. Plaintiff intends to address post-judgment proceedings, including issues arising under Florida promoter liability and corporate veil piercing doctrines, in the trial court.
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