Fayssanya Pratt worked as a personal assistant to billionaire and co-founder of the popular beverage brand AriZona Iced Tea, John Ferolito, for 23 years. After years of working for him, Ferolito allegedly gifted Pratt a house after her home was damaged. Now, the two are in a legal battle, with Ferolito kicking Pratt and her family out of the home, while the former assistant claims an oral agreement declaring her ownership of the home was made.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Ferolito had been a generous employer. He reportedly funded Pratt’s son’s braces, gifted her a brand-new Chevrolet Tahoe, and added $160,000 to an investment account he opened for Pratt and her children. In 2017, after a flood damaged her home, Pratt approached Ferolito to request help buying a new house.
Pratt claimed she was given an initial budget of $400,000 to search for a house and was promised the property deed afterward. Since 2018, Pratt and her three children have lived in a $493,736 home in Coral Springs, Florida, with her shouldering the property taxes, repairs, and maintenance. She claimed that she has invested nearly $100,000 in the home since moving in.
Ferolito’s decision was allegedly influenced by trust CEO
Pratt said she and Ferolito didn’t have issues during her employment. But in 2022, the CEO of Ferolito’s trust, Ron Cohen, whom she accused of assault and sexual harassment, allegedly warned the billionaire about Pratt’s exploitation of Ferolito’s generosity and claimed she was verbally hostile. By September, Pratt was fired…