The married owners of the top modeling agency that represents Kendall Jenner, Adriana Lima and others have finalized their $90 million divorce after a spectacular and grueling four-year court battle.
But blockbuster papers revealed in the settlement claim that exec Silvio Scaglia spent those years funneling cash out of the famed firm, using company funds to buy two Bentleys, a Porsche, Van Cleef & Arpels jewels and more.
Silvio Scaglia — who bought Elite Models in 2011 — appointed fashion designer Julia Haart as the CEO of the famed agency in March 2019, and they married later that year.
But a split in 2022 triggered a slew of brutal lawsuits and countersuits over control of Elite and various associated companies, and with Scaglia leveling stunning allegations at Haart that she had stolen funds. As we’ve previously reported, a judge even issued arrest warrants for the Italian businessman as part of the drama-laced proceedings.
But court papers obtained by Page Six show that in August a judge finally nixed the marriage — and handed 100% of the company, plus their $57 million Tribeca apartment to Haart, who is also the star of Netflix reality show “My Unorthodox Life.”
But the papers also revealed that Haart hired a forensic accountant to comb through company records as part of the divorce, and Scaglia’s assistant testified in the hearings.
In the filings, the court said it “received evidence” that Scaglia transferred “tens of millions of dollars to various third parties and entities including payments to himself and his paramour Michelle Marie Heinemann.” Scaglia’s attorneys have previously denied these allegations.
Meanwhile, according to the papers, the accountant told the court that “company funds were used to purchase various luxury automobiles, such as two Bentleys, and a Porsche, as well as luxury jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels…”
In the end, the court heard that Scaglia had allegedly transferred so much money out of the company that it was worth as much as his shares in the company “and then some” — meaning experts figured it was only fair that Haart should now own the rest of the company.
She walks away with full ownership of the business.
She will also receive half of the funds Scaglia allegedly withdrew from the company, which his former assistant says totals more than $25 million.
“I am profoundly grateful for the court’s decision awarding me 100% ownership of Elite… and for finally seeing the truth come out after four and a half years,” Haart, who was represented by divorce powerhouse Chemtob, Moss, Forman, Breyda, said.
She accused Silvio Scaglia and business associates of “destoying [her] reputation,” but added, “He accused me of misappropriating funds and using EWG for my personal benefit; the court found that he did exactly those things. Everything they accused me of doing is what they themselves did.”
“In 2022, Silvio claimed I owned zero percent; today, he owns zero percent and I own 100 percent of EWG,” she said.
But she said that “one piece of justice remains unfinished: accountability.” She said that Scaglia and his associates have been held in contempt by the court, but “the arrest warrants remain pending.”
“There cannot be one set of laws for the rich and powerful and another for everyone else,” she said. “For four and a half years, these men have repeatedly ignored court orders because they believed they could do so without consequence.”
Scaglia did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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