“Jane the Virgin” Actress Claims Billionaire Daryl Katz Tried to Pay Her for Sex

Daryl Katz and Greice Santo. Photo courtesy of Maxim.

Summary: In a new lawsuit, the husband of Greice Santo says that NHL owner Daryl Katz tried to pay his wife in exchange for sex.

Billionaire Daryl Katz has all the money in the world, but even with all of his riches, he allegedly couldn’t buy the love of Brazilian model and actress Greice Santo. Santo filed a police report in 2015 stating that Katz had harassed her after she turned down his offer to be his sugar baby, and her allegation resurfaced in a lawsuit filed by her husband R.J. Cipriani.

Santo’s husband, R.J. Cipriani, recently sued Glenn Bunting, the CEO of G.F. Bunting, a crisis consulting firm. Cipriani alleged that Katz hired Bunting’s firm to ruin Cipriani’s reputation, and Bunting did this by killing a story in The New York Post, where Cipriani had shared details of Katz’s alleged harassment of his wife, Santo.

Bunting’s lawyers have already responded to the defamation lawsuit by filing a motion to dismiss, according to The Daily Mail. While the lawsuit named Bunting as a defendant, Bunting’s lawyers claim that Cipriani, a professional gambler known as Robin Hood 702, filed the lawsuit as a “smear” tactic against Katz, a Canadian billionaire and the owner of NHL (National Hockey League).

The unpublished Post story at the heart of this lawsuit contained information about a 12-page harassment report filed by Santo in Hawaii. In the report, Santo, who played Blanca in season one of CW’s “Jane the Virgin,” said that Katz had offered her money for sex on numerous occasions and had harassed her despite her repeated denials of his requests.

The story began in November of 2015. Santo was in Hawaii for a photo shoot for Viva Glam magazine, and in her police report, she said that she met Katz, who is married with two children, because he was friends with Viva Glam CEO Katarina Van Derham. Santo said that Katz and his cousin Michael Gelmon told Santo that they would help her with her career and introduce her to Hollywood producer Joel Silver.

The initial offer intrigued Santo, but she said that once he hooked her, he did a bait-and-switch and instead offered her $20,000 in exchange for sex, despite both of them being married. She stated that she declined, but he continued to give her an indecent proposal for months after. She said that he wanted to give her $20,000 a romp and wanted six romps a month, which would end up netting her over a million a year.

After the Hawaiian meeting, Santo said that Katz’s cousin Gelmon continuously apologized to her and initiated more “career” meetings. Through Gelmon, she accepted one with Katz at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, and she said that Katz wired her $20,000 to attend. She claimed that she did not have sex for the money and that she told Katz she was “not a prostitute.”

Despite the inappropriateness of the Hawaiian and the Beverly Hills meetings, Santo said that she met with Katz multiple times to discuss her career. On the fifth meeting, she claimed that he gave her $15,000 but that she stood him up.

Santo said that she and Katz remained in contact after she pulled a no-show, and in January of 2016, Katz allegedly texted Santo that he wanted to meet her after an event that he was attending at Leonardo DiCaprio’s house. She said that she wanted to be his date to the party, but Katz told her that she was “not invited.” Shortly after, she said that cousin Gelmon threatened her that she would never work in Hollywood again.

Santo’s husband tried to share this information with The New York Post, and Bunting’s media consulting firm allegedly killed the story. Bunting’s lawyer said that Cipriani’s claims are false and that he was “trying to land a payout or press coverage from his wife’s run-in with Katz.” Bunting’s legal team also said that this was a case designed to extort Cipriani’s real target, billionaire Katz.

“This “lawsuit” is, in truth, a ruse designed to enable Plaintiff to publicize offensive and false claims against Mr. Katz and to smear Glenn F. Bunting and his firm in the process,” Bunting’s legal team said.

Katz’s camp has also responded to this lawsuit, pointing out Cipriano’s criminal history. In 2006, he pled guilty to insurance fraud.

“The allegations in the complaint filed against Mr. Bunting and his company, and the assertions made in that document about Mr. Katz, are false, malicious and entirely without merit,” Katz’s lawyer Dennis Roach told Variety. “Moreover, it is plain as day that this so-called complaint was filed solely as bait for the media as part of an ongoing effort by Cipriani to harass, embarrass and possibly extort Mr. Katz, exactly as Cipriani has done with other prominent individuals.”

Santo said that she is truthful, and she told Variety that she decided to come forward because Katz’s gross behavior was an industry standard that needed to stop.

“This is so common, but most girls and women — they are afraid of coming out,” Santo said to Variety. “I feel like me coming out will give courage and inspire so many girls who go through the same thing I go through.”