A once-glamorous Miami couple now accused of fraud will see their Star Island home head to auction to pay off creditors.
Claudio and Amarilis Osorio's 8,699-square foot home on one of Miami's most exclusive communities will be sold November 3, when experts expect it will fetch a price beyond the bidding start of $10.5 million.
"Two doors down was a sale for $25 million," said real estate agent Jill Eber, who gushed "location, location, location" while showing off the mansion's view facing west.
The incredible part: the home, which was built in the 1980's and has hosted fundraisers for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, is expected to sell as a tear-down.
The Osorios filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March after being accused by investors of duping them for millions meant to build homes for earthquake victims in Haiti.
The Venezulan-born businessman and his wife are facing at least five lawsuits, according to the Miami Herald, including those by NBA star Carlos Boozer, Miami developer and lawyer Chris Korge, and New York City developer Ryan Freedman.
Each bought into Osorio's company InnoVida after being told the firm would build a factory in Haiti that would produce 32,000 pre-fab and energy efficient cabins.
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NBA players Dwight Howard, Howard Eisley, and former Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning, who took a charitable trip to Haiti with Osorio, also invested.
But the plans came to naught, and court-appointed lawyer Mark Meland said “the Osorios have provided no adequate explanation" of what happened to some $37.5 million the company claimed on tax papers in 2009.
Court papers filed at bankruptcy showed the Osorios claim $2,000 in cash, $71,000 in monthly bills, and no steady income, according to the Herald.
For the Osorios, it was a spectacular fall from grace. For one wealthy auction winner, it could be the 'deal' of a lifetime -- a deal that starts with filing $500,000 escrow by November 1, just to have a shot.
