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Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News
On sunny days in 2022, cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce loves taking friends on a boat to Viex Island, about 75 miles from his Puerto Rico home.Pierce wants to show off to friends a “favorite” property he “has been in his life”: a once charming beachfront resort that he bought for over $15 million.
In its heyday, the resort was a W hotel with a 6,000-square-foot spa, a restaurant run by Michelin-starred chefs and sweeping sea views, and it was the backbone of the tourism industry in Viex.Later, in 2017, the hotel was hit by Hurricane Maria and was forced to close.Pierce reopened it, using the wealth he earned from cryptocurrencies to revitalize the hotel and the local economy.
Brock Pierce moved to Puerto Rico in 2017
Pierce was a child star who was proficient in acting.On his journey to Viex, he will moor Italian-made yachts at a local port and then lead guests along a stroll of wild horses to the gates of the closed W Hotel.
“This is a big bet for me,” Pierce said, “and where my heart is.”
But Pierce’s luxury expression is just an illusion.Like many other grand projects he launched in Puerto Rico, the hotel is now trapped in debt and legal disputes.Last fall, Pierce lost the W Hotel in a dispute with another investor.Now, the hotel is still closed, with windows smashed and the floors are covered with mold and horse manure.A $17,000 lounge chair designed by a famous Spanish architect was filled with dust in the empty atrium.
Pierce’s dream of reopening W Hotel Vieques is not fulfilled
Chairs of various colors are piled in the shaded hall of W Hotel
When Pierce moved to Puerto Rico in 2017, he invested in a range of experimental cryptocurrency businesses.With the help of a think tank, he made an amazing commitment to revitalize the local economy.Pierce is known for being involved in the creation of one of the world’s most popular digital currencies, USDT.He led a wave of industry immigrants to Puerto Rico, many of whom began buying land and hyped what they called Puertopia, hoping to turn this U.S. territory into a hub for cryptocurrency investors and tech startups.
“If you’re an American and you’re in the cryptocurrency industry, you’re going to at least one trip to Puerto Rico,” Pierce said in 2019.
Puerto Rico is a blessed land of cryptocurrencies.In 2012, local governments passed legislation that turned the archipelago into a tax haven for wealthy immigrants.Under what is now known as Bill 60, those who move there can apply for a benefit exempt from capital gains tax.The measure aims to increase investment in the Puerto Rico economy, which has been working to recover from the two decades of financial crisis.
But Pierce’s vision for cryptocurrencies to drive economic recovery has not yet come true, according to hundreds of pages of court records and interviews with more than two dozen people familiar with his efforts in Puerto Rico.His business partners betrayed him, and some colleagues said he was almost out of money.There is no clear evidence that Pierce’s arrival has helped the local economy.Instead, Act 60 has become a symbol of the new era of exploitation.
Many locals believe that Pierce is the latest evidence of the global elite’s view of Puerto Rico as a private playground for centuries.After the U.S. invasion in the late 19th century, American merchants occupied hundreds of acres of local land, built sugar cane plantations, and then transferred profits back to the United States.Decades later, the U.S. Navy conducted military exercises on Viex Island, including bomb tests that damage ecosystems and cause long-term health problems.
With the arrival of Pierce and other wealthy immigrants, Puerto Rican residents saw new rifts, and house prices soared, especially in coastal towns, forcing local families to be displaced.On a wall outside the W Hotel, a group of local artists painted a mural, in which Pierce was wearing a crimson tunic and holding a symbol of a Bitcoin logo in her hand, with the title: “Cologueism.”
Chameleon instinct
Pierce, 43, sat down for coffee at the monastery hotel in Old San Juan on a recent Friday night.The Monastery Hotel is a hotel converted from a Masonic club and is an informal base for secret immigrants in Puerto Rico.He wore a wide-edged orange hat and an oversized white T-shirt with the words “The scars never break.”He pointed out with an exaggerated gesture outside the window, which was a bustling cobblestone avenue called Christo Street, one of the oldest streets in the city.
“This is the first colonial infrastructure built by the Spanish conquerors,” he explained, “this is the first road built with bricks in the entire Western Hemisphere.”
Now, the landscape belongs to Pierce: He bought the monastery for $4.8 million in 2018.
Pierce came to Puerto Rico with a unique resume: the son of a Minnesota home builder and a church official, a former child star who played briefly in the “Flying Duck” movie, andStarring with comedian Sinbada in a movie called The First Child.As an adult, he became an early investor in several well-known cryptocurrency projects, eventually earning $700-1 billion in wealth.
Aerial view of San Juan, Puerto Rico.Pierce leads a group of investors to Puerto Rico, working to transform this U.S. territory into a hub for cryptocurrency investors and tech startups
After Bill 60 passed, visitors from the United States became a beautiful landscape in restaurants and nightclubs in Puerto Rico.Pierce is a regular visitor to Burning Man and one of the easiest to identify.He was often seen walking on the streets of the Old Town of San Juan: he was short and energetic, wearing a T-shirt and leather vest, and a necklace around his neck.
Pierce bought two houses in a gated community in Dorado, where the wealthy lived with his partner, entrepreneur Crystal Rose, and his mother, Lynette Calabro.According to two attendees, Pierce interacted frequently with local politicians and held luxurious parties where guests sometimes took drugs such as cocaine and ketamine.
For a while, Pierce successfully attracted some locals with his openness and curiosity.He is like a skilled actor, with a chameleon-like instinct and can adjust his behavior according to the audience’s preferences.“If the other person is serious, he will be serious,” said Hugo de la Uz, a local maritime expert who helped manage the Pierce yacht. “But if it’s a lunatic, he will be crazy.”
Pierce showed interest in almost all world religions, with a hippie spirit.Once, while traveling with some fellow Bill 60 immigrants, he snuggled in the arms of a kapok tree, a species of Puerto Rican worship.“I feel like there is some connection with him because he has a spiritual depth,” said Puerto Rican pianist Carli Muñoz, who had dated Pierce in San Juan.
Kapok Tree Park is a tourist attraction and reserve on Vieux Island, with the oldest Kapok tree in Puerto Rico in the center of the park.
But that’s all.”I’ve made up my mind to stop doing business with him anymore,” Muñoz said.
Real estate transaction records show that Muñoz has purchased at least 14 properties since moving to Puerto Rico.Some of these properties, such as monasteries, are already operating businesses.But Muñoz also announced plans to convert most of his portfolio into new projects, including an art gallery and a community center.None of these projects were implemented.A hospital he bought at Humakao City late last year was in trouble, and the gallery was also on sale recently.In 2019, Pierce took over a three-story building in the Old Town of San Juan, which used to be a children’s museum.For a while, he told local media that he used it as “a place to meet friends and discuss ideas.”Today, the building is empty and the paint on the walls has peeled off.
The abandoned space inside the former Children’s Museum of Old San Juan, Pierce says he bought it “as a place to gather and discuss great ideas”
“It’s so sad,” said Puerto Rican businessman Robert Cimino, who owned the building for 19 years and later sold it to Pierce for $2 million. “I want to sell it to someone who can maintain it.”
Pierce found local Puerto Ricans time and time again to help him with the development project, but many of these collaborators later said they were exploited and they were not paid as they deserved.Meanwhile, he was in court with another Bill 60 immigrant, Joseph Lipsey III, who seized control of the W Hotel last year, claiming Pierce defaulted on a loan.
Pierce denied cheating on anyone.But at least three lawsuits against him are under trial in the local court.While drinking coffee in the monastery, he admitted that his misjudgment and childishness disrupted his plans in Puerto Rico.”I believe in others,” he said, “this is one of the reasons that gets me in trouble.”
Boos in beauty pageant
Pierce loves to build herself into a geopolitical enabler.In 2020, he ran for the U.S. president as an independent candidate, receiving nearly 50,000 votes.He boasted that he had a “date” with Panama in El Salvador, and one night in June his assistant announced that Pierce would be on a Zoom call with the president of Palau, the small western Pacific island.
“I spent a lot of time with almost all religious leaders in the world,” Pierce said in the monastery. “There are leaders of many nation-states in the world.”
But Pierce’s main focus is Puerto Rico, who has become the lead spokesperson for Bill 60.After moving, he told Rolling Stone that he would rebuild the economy “with the money we saved from the IRS in the form of Robin Hood.”These publicity helped Puerto Rico become a popular destination for crypto enthusiasts: According to government data, about 2,600 people currently enjoy Bill 60 tax breaks.
As soon as Pierce arrived, locals showed strong opposition.Someone wrote in red paint on the wall of the Children’s Museum, “Foreigners go home.” But behind the scenes, Viex is expanding his real estate empire.He hired Gonzalo Gracia, a well-known local hotel developer, to help him find buildings in Puerto Rico that can be restored and transformed into tourist attractions.
Pierce assisted in hosting the Miss World Pageant 2021 in San Juan.When he was introduced as one of the judges, the audience booed.
Soon, Pierce’s business progress began to deteriorate, and she frequently got into legal disputes with local partners.In 2021, he helped host the Miss World pageant at a concert venue in San Juan.By then, Pierce was already considered a speculative politician in Puerto Rico: when he was introduced as one of the judges, the crowd booed him.Later, he sued Stephanie del Valle, a former Miss World executive, claiming she owed him $1.2 million.Ms. Del Valle refuted the lawsuit against herself, accusing Pierce of defamation and demanding $31 million in damages.(The dispute is being tried in local court. Pierce said he is “committed to a fair settlement of the matter.”)
Del Valle was one of the first Puerto Ricans to clash with Pierce, who accused Pierce of cheating and manipulating them.During the pageant, Pierce bought an 80% stake in W Hotel.The deal was one of his biggest investments in Puerto Rico and paved the way for him to seek over $30 million in tax credits from local governments.
Gracia assisted with the acquisition.He met with local Viex officials on behalf of Pierce and found an architect to plan the hotel to reopen, court records show.
But the partnership is short-lived: Gracia claimed in a 2022 lawsuit that Pierce excluded him from the project after the deal was completed and refused to pay him a $790,000 commission.
A similar situation occurred with another project on Viex.In 2021, Pierce asked a local naval engineer to help him open a hotel and museum on a boat docked on the island’s northern coast.The engineer asked to be anonymous to avoid commercial impacts, arranged a meeting with local administrators and discussed the project with the mayor, but Pierce suddenly abandoned the plan.In an interview, he said Pierce still owed him $17,000 in project payments.(Pierce says he doesn’t have the debt.)
Last year, there were signs that Pierce was already struggling.He had asked De la Uz to repair the Aurora, a yacht he used to pick up friends to and from the West Coast.De la Uz recalled that most of the guests were “the Americans who tried to convince him of the money” and “he portrayed himself as the savior of Puerto Rico.”
In a 2023 lawsuit, De la Uz claimed he and Pierce jointly owned the yacht, and Pierce was in arrears for repairs.De la Uz said the yacht was building up water and slowly sinking into the Caribbean Sea as guests party on the deck.
Pierce declined to comment on the allegations, saying: “We are actively addressing these issues through courts to achieve a fair solution.”
“I did not do any due diligence”
When Pierce was out on the Aurora, she would sometimes bring a newcomer to the Bill 60 community – Lipsey, a 62-year-old logistics tycoon.For a while, Pierce only knew Lipsey’s nickname, Jopepi.Pierce thinks he is not social, but is very likable.”I believe this is a very kind person,” Pierce said.
Pierce only knows the general situation of Lipsey coming to Puerto Rico.In 2017, Lipsey made a fortune from disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Maria through a contract with the U.S. government.But two years later, a legal scandal revealed his upper class life in Aspen, Colorado.A crazy New Year party at the Lipsey family sparked a police investigation, and he and his wife eventually admitted to serving alcohol to minors and were sentenced to one year of probation.
The Lipseys sold their Aspen house and eventually moved to Puerto Rico to settle near Pierce.Soon, the two families became close.Lipsey’s wife becomes friends with Pierce’s mother.Pierce recalls that after Ms. Calabro died of a heart attack in 2022, Lipsey said he had promised her that he would always be with her family.
Pierce and Lipsey have worked with various commercial projects, but the most important deals are related to Hotel W.Last October, Lipsey agreed to lend Pierce $10 million, of which $4 million was spent on buying the remaining 20% stake in the hotel and $6 million was spent on investing in the bankrupt hospital chain.These terms are very risky for Pierce: He has to complete the hotel deal in two weeks.As collateral, he had to take out all his shares in the W Hotel.Pierce said he was uncomfortable with the requests, but agreed.”I didn’t do any due diligence,” he recalled.
A month after the agreement was signed, Lipsey accused Pierce of violating the agreement and seizing control of the hotel.Lipsey later claimed in legal documents that instead of using the borrowed funds as planned, Pierce spent the money on a private jet and hosted a 72-hour birthday party across San Juan, Miami and Los Angeles.
As the dispute escalates, Pierce asks Lipsey to meet at the Hacienda Tamarindo hotel.This small Vix hotel was bought by Pierce for $3.2 million.Lipsey later told Puerto Rican police that the meeting was equivalent to kidnapping.Pierce locked his cell phone and locked the door, with an armed guard patrolling next to him.
Pierce acquires boutique hotel Hacienda Tamarindo for $3.2 million in 2021
In court, Pierce denied misappropriating borrowed money or kidnapping Lipsey.But one of his consultants, Cassandra Wesselman, who recently moved to Puerto Rico, said that when the W Hotel dispute began, he was not in a good state of mind.Ms. Wesselman said it was she who suggested bringing the armed guards to Tamarindo estate to protect Pierce from a couple living in another room.She explained that the couple belonged to a cult.
One month after the controversial meeting, Pierce sued Lipsey in an attempt to regain control of the W Hotel and accused him of fraud and theft.
The judge dismissed Pierce’s request for injunction that was supposed to restore his ownership of the W Hotel during the case.Pierce and Lipsey have been in touch to discuss possible settlements.But the friendship between the two has ended.
Lipsey didn’t talk publicly about the dispute until July, when he discussed it with a New York Times reporter through WhatsApp for two hours.Lipsey, with a cigarette in his mouth, visited his Tennessee house in the virtual world, where he lives part of the year, turns on his camera to show off his unusual collection of artworks.A canvas was hung on one wall with two red paint spots on it.Lipsey explained that this is the work of his son’s girlfriend.
Lipsey called Pierce “not a good person” and a bad businessman.”Everything that happened to him when he moved to Puerto Rico, and everything he promised, he didn’t do it.”
He said the same thing in front of Pierce.Lipsey said during a heated conversation, he called Pierce “really disappointed your mom.”
Carefree self-confidence
One June morning, Pierce strolled through the Old Town of San Juan and meandered along the narrow sidewalk, pointing out his favorite spot along the way.Despite the hot weather, he wore a black outfit, which was done every day, so he didn’t have to worry about time-consuming dress choices anymore.”Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs, these people wear the same clothes every day,” Pierce explained.
He stopped outside Carly’s Bar, an upscale jazz bar run by Puerto Rican pianist Muñoz.Pierce said Muñoz had written a song specifically for him and Ms. Rose.Thinking of this, he couldn’t help laughing.”This song is called “Superhero”,” Pierce said.(The actual title of this song is “Super Power”.)
Even after all the setbacks, Pierce is confident that she can be a force that drives Puerto Rico’s progress.But his confidence obscures the ongoing chaos in his business affairs.The conflict between Pierce and Lipsey has sparked intense speculation among his friends.Robert Anderson, a cryptocurrency enthusiast living in Puerto Rico, is friendly with Lipsey, who says they act “like children.”
Pierce’s friends and colleagues said he seemed to be out of money.Lipsey’s lawyer argued in court that Pierce lacked the “fund or resources” to develop the W Hotel.This summer, a representative of Puerto Rico basketball team Mets de Guaynabo emailed Pierce about failing to pay more than $25,000 in sponsorship fees he owed the team, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
Pierce is wearing black clothes and a black hat and sitting on a stool in a white room
Pierce also expressed concerns about her personal safety in Puerto Rico.According to two people close to Pierce, he privately discussed plans to build an ammunition depot on Viex.He said that if the locals rise up to resist him, the arsenal will provide some protection.
In a 17-page statement, Pierce denied his proposal to build an arsenal and said he was still rich, refuting claims that he was financially struggling.He said Mets de Guaynabo’s complaint was a “misunderstanding” that stemmed from a misunderstanding of the sponsorship terms, which he has now agreed to pay.
However, just as the New York Times finished its report, a Pierce public relations officer mistakenly sent a message to a group chat including New York Times reporter and Pierce consultant Ms. Wesselman: “We haven’t received our salary yet.”.”I guess you don’t have the money to pay us, otherwise you’d have paid it long ago.” Wesselman laughed at the news, saying that the PR officer was “completely teasing us.”After learning that a reporter saw the text message, the public relations officer said that Pierce “always paying on time.”
Pierce defended her work in Puerto Rico.He said he had made charitable donations, including a six-figure donation to support Covid rescue efforts in the region.“Change projects take time,” Pierce said. “While some initiatives are challenged, others have achieved significant success.”
Among his many achievements, Pierce mentions a hospital in Umacao that he bought at the end of 2023—an investment he promoted to Lipsey.He said he worked with Puerto Rican radiologist Josué Vázquez Delgado to lift the hospital out of bankruptcy and left over 90% of his staff.
But in the interview, a doctor at the hospital who asked not to be named said Pierce owed him tens of thousands of dollars in salary.The doctor said that the hospital has been owing suppliers payments and some surgeons have not enough equipment.(Pierce said his team has addressed these issues and “significantly improved the operation of the hospital.”)
Pierce was trying to visually show his success in Puerto Rico while walking in San Juan last month.He led two New York Times reporters to a building he bought in 2019, which was simply furnished and had an extra conspicuous TV screen.He claims the building houses the world’s first NFT art gallery.”You probably wouldn’t have imagined that Puerto Rico would be the first place in the world to set a precedent in technology,” he said.Images on display include a fluorescent dinosaur perched in a huge forest of cactus, which Pierce said was designed by his 5-year-old daughter using artificial intelligence tools.
But what he didn’t mention is that a luxury real estate company has posted notices for the sale of the building and held an open visit day.Facing this fact, Pierce admits he has recently tried to sell the gallery.He explained that it was never completely open and he was trying to make money.
