Grant Cardone Lawsuits: Fund V Fraud, Defamation, Brecka Split

Grant Cardone’s lawsuits fall into three active fronts and one that has closed: a revived investor class action over how he marketed two of his real estate funds, a $500 million defamation suit filed by a former tenant, ongoing state-court litigation with former business partner Gary Brecka, and a defamation case Cardone himself brought against former T-Mobile CEO John Legere that settled in January 2025. The investor class action is the most consequential of the group and is scheduled for trial on March 9, 2027.¹

The Investor Class Action Over Fund V and Fund VI

The central case is Pino v. Cardone Capital, LLC, filed in September 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.² The original named plaintiff, Luis Pino, was an unaccredited investor who put $10,000 into Cardone Equity Fund V and Cardone Equity Fund VI. Those two funds raised $100 million from more than 2,200 investors under Regulation A of the federal securities laws.³ After Luis Pino died, his daughter Christine was substituted as lead plaintiff.

What Investors Allege

The complaint focuses on how Cardone pitched the funds on Instagram and YouTube. In one video, he told viewers: “you’re gonna walk away with a 15% annualized return. If I’m in that deal for 10 years, you’re gonna earn 150%… You can tell the SEC that’s what I said it would be.”⁴³

The pivotal piece of evidence is a letter from the SEC. According to the Ninth Circuit, the SEC told Cardone that the 15% projections in his offering documents “lacked backing and should be removed.”⁵ Cardone pulled the projections from his SEC filings without objection, but the lawsuit says he kept promoting the same numbers on social media without telling investors what the SEC had said.⁴ The plaintiff also alleges Cardone misrepresented who was on the hook for the funds’ debts and failed to disclose certain fees, including acquisition fees on properties Cardone had already purchased himself.⁶

The claims are brought under Sections 12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933. These are not classic fraud claims. They do not require proof that Cardone intended to deceive, only proof of material misstatements or omissions in the offering of securities.⁷

The Ninth Circuit Revived the Case

A district court dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, but on June 10, 2025 the Ninth Circuit reversed.⁷ The panel found the plaintiff had adequately alleged the return projections were both subjectively and objectively false. The fact that Cardone pulled the numbers from his offering documents without argument after the SEC letter, the court said, supported the inference that he did not actually believe the projections he kept promoting online.⁵

The panel also rejected the defense that investors could have found the SEC letter themselves on the EDGAR database, holding that “constructive knowledge does not bar recovery for Section 12 claims.” And the court found Cardone’s statements about who bore the funds’ debt could be material enough to support a claim, because the potential costs involved could alter the overall picture available to investors.⁷

Class, Deadlines, and Trial Date

The case is now back in the Central District of California. The court has defined the class as anyone who purchased an interest in Cardone Equity Fund V or Fund VI through their public offerings, and Susman Godfrey has been appointed as class counsel.¹⁸ Class members who want to opt out must do so by July 14, 2026. Trial is scheduled for March 9, 2027. Cardone and his companies deny the allegations and have called the litigation “frivolous.” Cardone has also said the investments are performing according to or exceeding objectives.⁹

The $500 Million Defamation Suit From Chealse Sophia Howell

In December 2025, Chealse Sophia Howell, a former Miss Canada delegate, sued Cardone and Cardone Capital in Miami-Dade Circuit Court for $500 million, alleging defamation and tortious interference with her business relationships.¹⁰ The complaint alleges Cardone used his social media platforms to falsely accuse Howell of involvement in criminal activity in the Middle East and to imply her talent agency was tied to sex crimes and prostitution. According to the complaint, Cardone posted old marketing photos of Howell wearing a ski mask, offered rewards for information about her whereabouts, and encouraged his followers to harass her.¹¹

The suit runs alongside an eviction dispute. A Cardone-controlled entity sued Howell over a lease at the Regalia Residences in Sunny Isles Beach, alleging she caused major water damage. Howell denies those claims and is seeking the return of $150,000 in security deposits.¹¹ Cardone has called the defamation suit a “deflection” from the eviction case. Howell’s complaint asserts defamation per se, defamation by implication, and tortious interference, and she has demanded a jury trial.¹⁰ No rulings on the merits have been reported.

The Gary Brecka Business Breakup

Cardone and biohacker Gary Brecka co-founded 10X Health, which grew from $4 million to $120 million in annual revenue over three years. That partnership collapsed when Brecka was fired on November 5, 2024, triggering overlapping lawsuits.¹²

Cardone Ventures and 10X Health Ventures sued Brecka and his wife, Sage Workinger, in federal court in December 2024, alleging trademark infringement over the mark “Ultimate Human Analysis,” unfair competition, and misappropriation of company resources.¹³ The companies followed with state-court complaints in Florida and Delaware in March 2025, alleging Brecka spent 18 months building unauthorized side businesses using 10X Health assets, earning roughly $13 million in 2024 from eight separate entities and over 20 trademark applications. Cardone Ventures sought to claw back more than $15 million paid to Brecka and Workinger.¹⁴

Brecka countered with his own state lawsuit against Cardone Ventures and its CEO Brandon Dawson, claiming predatory efforts to edge him out through breaches of contractual agreements.¹⁵ Workinger separately filed a $100 million defamation suit against Elena Cardone over an Instagram post that paired a clip of Brecka with Sean “Diddy” Combs alongside the caption “boy bye!”¹²

The federal trademark case settled and closed in April 2025 on undisclosed terms. The state cases continue. In Brecka’s suit, a judge dismissed two counts of breach of implied covenant and one breach of contract count against Cardone Ventures but allowed other contract claims to proceed. In the defamation case against Elena Cardone, one count was withdrawn by the plaintiffs and a hearing on a motion to dismiss was scheduled for May 2025.¹⁵

Cardone’s Own Defamation Suit Against John Legere

Cardone has also been the plaintiff. In January 2024, he sued former T-Mobile CEO John Legere in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, seeking $100 million.¹⁶ The suit alleged that Legere, a former friend, called Cardone “the biggest bullshit artist on the planet” and a “con-man” during online group chats in 2023, and predicted Cardone would be “found guilty of fraud.” Cardone claimed those statements cost his companies about $100 million in lost business.¹⁷

Legere moved to dismiss, arguing his statements were protected opinion. A judge denied the motion in May 2024.¹⁷ The case ended on January 11, 2025 with a confidential settlement reached during a Miami mediation. The terms were not disclosed.¹⁸

1
Cardone Class Action. Pino v. Cardone Capital, LLC – Class Action Information
2
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Christine Pino v. Cardone Capital, LLC, No. 23-3512
3
Silver Law Group. Did You Invest in Cardone Equity Fund V or Cardone Equity Fund VI
4
InvestmentNews. Court Revives Lawsuit Over 15% Fund Return Promise
5
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Pino v. Cardone Capital – Inside the Courts
6
Silver Law Group. Did You Invest With Cardone Capital, LLC
7
Duane Morris LLP. Ninth Circuit Clarifies Viability of Section 12(a)(2) Misstatement Claims Under Omnicare
8
Pino v. Cardone Capital, LLC. Pino v. Cardone Capital Short Form Notice
9
Yahoo Finance. Grant Cardone’s Previously Dismissed Lawsuit Revived
10
Newsfile Corp. Former Miss Universe Canada Delegate Chealse Sophia Howell Sues Grant Cardone and Cardone Capital Seeking $500 Million in Florida Defamation Case
11
The Real Deal. Grant Cardone Accused of Smearing Former Miss Canada
12
Mediate.com. Grant Cardone Gary Brecka Seek Mediation in Business Breakup Lawsuit
13
CourtListener. Cardone Ventures, LLC v. IJS Presentations, LLC
14
PR Newswire. Cardone Ventures and 10X Health Ventures File Two Additional Lawsuits Against Gary Brecka
15
Insurance News Net. Cardone Brecka Settle Federal Lawsuit Over Breakup State Lawsuits Remain
16
The Real Deal. Grant Cardone Sues John Legere for Defamation
17
The Guardian. T-Mobile CEO Trump Ally Defamation Suit
18
Daily Business Review. Full-Throated Apology Legal Theory in the Grant Cardone John Legere Feud