Billionaire heiress and reality TV star husband allegedly scammed best friend out of $2 million, then posted pictures posing on yacht, lawsuit claims
A Canadian billionaire heiress, Chloe de Serigny, and her husband Brendan Fitzpatrick, a former reality TV star, have been accused in a US federal lawsuit of scamming their close friend Max Jan Fowles-Pazdro out of $2 million and then flaunting their wealthy lifestyle on social media while refusing to repay him. The case highlights how personal friendships can be exploited for financial gain among the wealthy, and how such disputes can quickly turn public and litigious when trust breaks down.
Fowles-Pazdro claims he lent the couple $2 million in January 2025 for a UK property project after Brendan promised repayment within six weeks, but two years on nothing has been returned, leaving him and his wife facing financial ruin. The lawsuit alleges the couple repeatedly promised repayment, including via Chloe's mother Sophie Desmarais, trustee of the Desmarais family fortune estimated at $4.5 billion, while posting images of themselves yachting in the Mediterranean. Chloe is the granddaughter of the late Canadian financier Paul Desmarais, once Canada's fourth-richest person, and she and Brendan, who appeared on Rich Kids of Beverly Hills, married in California in 2023.
- Heiress and ex-reality star sued over unpaid $2 million friend loan
- Couple allegedly flaunted yacht trips instead of repaying debt
- Chloe de Serigny is granddaughter of billionaire Paul Desmarais
New here? Start with this
Chloe de Serigny is a Canadian heiress descended from the Desmarais family, one of Canada's wealthiest business dynasties, built on a fortune once overseen by her grandfather Paul Desmarais. Her husband, Brendan Fitzpatrick, became known through the reality series Rich Kids of Beverly Hills; the pair married in California in 2023.
Max Jan Fowles-Pazdro, described as a close friend of the couple, says he lent them $2 million in January 2025 to help fund a property project in the UK, on the understanding it would be repaid within six weeks. He claims that money was never returned, and he has now filed a lawsuit in the United States seeking to recover it.
The dispute matters because it involves one of Canada's most prominent wealthy families and raises questions about how money and trust operate between friends when large sums and lavish lifestyles are involved. The claims made in the lawsuit have not been proven in court, and the couple's side of the story has not been detailed here.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
From the lender's perspective, this is a straightforward case of a close friendship being exploited for financial gain: he says he handed over a substantial sum in good faith, on an explicit promise of repayment within six weeks, and that promise was repeated multiple times over two years, including through a family trustee, while the couple continued to display a lifestyle of considerable wealth. Advocates for this view would argue that when someone can afford yachts and holidays but not to settle a debt to a friend facing real financial hardship, the public and the courts have a legitimate interest in scrutinising whether trust was deliberately abused rather than simply testing patience.
The case against
From the couple's likely position, it is important to remember that a lawsuit contains only allegations, not proven facts, and that business arrangements between friends, especially those tied to complex property projects, can be delayed for many legitimate reasons unrelated to bad faith, such as financing complications, legal hold-ups or disputes over the original terms of the loan. A reasonable defender would also note that social media posts of a lifestyle built up over generations of family wealth are not evidence of intent to defraud, and that airing a private financial disagreement publicly, before any court has ruled, risks unfairly damaging reputations based on one side's account alone.