The Miami-based modeling agency mogul and entrepreneur is fighting back after claiming that anonymous accounts on Reddit and Twitter have embarked on a campaign to discredit him as the “next Jeffrey Epstein”.
Ricardo Silva, owner of Silva International Investments and best known as the president of Select Model Managements and co-owner of European soccer giants AC Milan, is asking a federal judge to unearth accounts that allegedly smear him.
Silva is also known as a philanthropist and huge donor to Florida International University, which is where they named the football stadium after him.
He has filed several court filings, claiming he is accused of “serial sexual assaults” and “sexual harassment” and “falsely likening him to Epstein’s behaviour”.
Silva demands he stop these billboards and cell phones launching what he calls false accusations against him all over the city of Miami and exposing his supporters.
Ricardo Silva, owner of Silva International Investments and best-known chairman of Select Model Managements and co-owner of European soccer giants AC Milan, is asking a federal judge to unearth accounts that allegedly smear him.
In a filing in the US District Court for the Northern District of the United States, his lawyers allege that “the statements – on the face of it – falsely accuse Mr. Silva of egregious criminal acts that can be shown to have never actually occurred.” California earlier this week.
“Similarly, the context of the statements indicates that Mr. Silva committed egregious criminal acts of sexual misconduct,” they added.
Silva’s team argues that its “due process rights will continue to be biased” without Reddit and Twitter helping to expose those making the claims.
‘Mr. Silva and his family are victims of a fierce and anonymous defamation campaign. The Daily Beast.
All of the anonymous statements attacking Mr. Silva are false and defamatory, which he vehemently denies. Accordingly, it has filed a defamation lawsuit against the violators and is taking all available measures to reveal the identities of the unknown perpetrators, who have done their best to cover their tracks and avoid retaliation for their crimes.
The accusations first began with the mobile billboard, which walked around Silva’s Miami Beach apartment in December of 2022, and which his 17-year-old son spotted during Miami’s Art Basel fair.
Silva claims that the creator of those billboards also took to creating a website, Twitter account, and subreddit defaming him.
The lawsuit adds that his son “was devastated to see his father portrayed in this way. This caused Mr Silva and his family severe emotional distress.”
Ricardo Silva awards Globe Soccer 2018 to Cristiano Ronaldo on January 3, 2019
Silva and David Beckham, pictured here, own two separate soccer teams in the city of Miami
Ricardo Silva and his wife, Tatiana Silva, attend the Krug Journey Miami at the Faena Hotel on March 9, 2016.
The accusations didn’t just appear on those billboards, Silva argues, as someone took to several Reddit pages to make “defamatory remarks.”
Earlier this week, Silva filed a federal request requiring Reddit to disclose “many anonymous individuals” on subreddits as wide as r/NYC, r/Miami, r/Florida, r/Chicago, r/Illinois, r/ London, r/metoo, r/Modeling, r/
The unknown label also created a private forum to discuss Silva and flagged users of these various sub-forums “to ensure that followers of those forums would see the data”.
Later in the week, Silva made another motion to ask Twitter to bring the person behind the Twitter account public and make similar accusations.
The recording claims that the user is tagging various media outlets in an attempt to increase publicity for what it says are false statements.
Ricardo Silva with James Corden in the south of France on July 4, 2019 Photo from his Instagram page
Silva is famously owned by European soccer giants AC Milan
Silva even went so far as to engage a private investigator in an attempt to track down his unknown accusers.
The mobile billboard company that carried the native ads is currently in mediation with Silva’s legal team.
Silva’s lawyers — who are seeking damages — believe he will, with the help of these big tech companies, emerge victorious in the legal system.
‘Mr. Silva is anxious to have his day in court until the truth prevails and the unknown perpetrators face the consequences of their devastating campaign and reprehensible and dishonest actions.
Neither Twitter nor Reddit provided any responses as of Friday.
