Mystery $1M condo purchase sparked suspensions, firing at Miami Beach tech firm
Miami Beach-based facial recognition technology company Alfi is investigating the purchase of a million-dollar condo it had reported as a future office — one of the reasons behind the termination and suspension of key company executives.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday afternoon, Alfi reported that the purchase, for approximately $1.1 million, had come with an “erroneously certified corporate resolution regarding [its] unanimous approval by the Board and the Company’s stockholders.”
In a quarterly filing submitted in August, the company said it had signed a contract on July 12 to acquire office space for $1.1 million in Miami Beach. Miami-Dade property records show Alfi purchased a unit at 1000 South Pointe Drive for that price in a deal that closed Aug. 12. A Zillow search shows the unit is a duplex with a terrace.
Alfi reported last Friday it had put chief executive officer Paul Pereira and chief financial officer Dennis McIntosh on paid leave pending an investigation, and that it had terminated chief technology officer Charles Pereira, Paul’s son.
Reached by phone, Paul Pereira said he and the others had no comment at this time.
In the latest filing, Alfi also said it is investigating a commitment by the company to sponsor an unnamed sports tournament for $640,000 paid for via shares of the company’s stock.
In an interview with the Miami Herald last month, Paul Pereira said Alfi had planned to sponsor the Necker Cup, a tennis tournament hosted by Richard Branson in the British Virgin Islands. A Google search reveals references to the Alfi Necker Cup, but visiting the tournament’s website and social media channels show Alfi’s name appears to have been stripped.
A spokesman for the tournament did not respond to a request for comment.
Alfi said the commitment stipulated Alfi would pay out “additional cash amounts” if the net proceeds received by the tournament upon the sale of shares were less than an amount specified in the sponsorship contract. If the sale of the shares exceeded the amount, Alfi would be given a credit toward sponsorship or attendance at events in the future.
In the filing, Alfi also says a board member, Richard Mowser, had resigned in protest of the suspensions and termination of the younger Pereira. In an attached resignation letter, Mowser calls the decisions “personal and calculated and driven by certain directors/shareholders to take control of the company without any regard for due process.”
Mowser could not be immediately reached for comment.
An agency acting on behalf of the company referred a request for additional comment from interim CEO Peter Bordes to a company release announcing the appointment of two new board members.
Shares in Alfi closed up 5% Tuesday to $4.71. They reached as much as $18.59 this summer as it momentarily gained steam as a “meme” stock discussed among reddit traders.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 2:55 PM.
