In Brooklyn, an Ex-Lover's Alleged Revenge Plot Includes False Reports of Rat Infestation

Fritzner Jean, a well-known business owner in Gowanus and a man about Park Slope, slapped his ex-lover (and ex-employee) with a civil suit in Kings County Supreme Court last month.

Jean claims in the suit that Abiola Bruce — who used to teach classes at his children’s gym, Powerplay Kids — became jealous when he took another woman to the Virgin Islands for vacation in June 2014.

“Defendant contacted Fritz in the Virgin Islands and threatened to shut down Powerplay unless and until he returned from the Virgin Islands,” says the suit.

As part of Bruce’s alleged yearlong ”revenge plot” against Jean, the woman told police he sexually assaulted her, broke into his home office, stole money and business records, harassed his elderly parents, locked other employees out of Powerplay and spread false rumors about Jean to Powerplay customers, the lawsuit claims.

She also allegedly told the parents of kids at Powerplay that the gym was infested with rats — the ultimate Brooklyn low-blow.

According to Jean’s lawsuit, his ex sometimes pretended to be a “Detective Marshall” in phone calls with Powerplay employees, associates and customers. Her flurry of false accusations has caused “former clients to abandon the business, withdraw from classes and demand refunds,” according to the complaint.

For this, Jean is asking $15 million.

His attorney, Michael Hiller, compares the defendant to Rosamund Pike’s character in ”Gone Girl” — ”only she didn’t disappear.”

Jean became romantically involved with Bruce a few years after she started working at Powerplay, the suit says, but he eventually ended it and tried to remain friends.

Their affair may have lasted some time. An unidentified commenter on Powerplay’s Yelp page wrote in 2008: ”Abiola Bruce is my daughters favorite instructor but it concerns me that my child has mentioned being uncomfortable of how Abiola and owner Fritz Jean interact with each other. I only bring this up because Abiola is supposedly engaged and I can not condone that type of promiscuous behavior amongst adults/professionals in a family atmosphere. I never suspected any foul play before but they do share an office together, in which the door is always closed.”

Jean sits on Brooklyn Community Board 6 and was previously a member of the Community Education Council District 15. He’s got friends in high places, including former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who appointed him to the education council.

“Fritz lives in Brooklyn,” says his suit, ”where he has dedicated his life to being an upstanding citizen and business owner, and where he has participated in responsible community development.”

Bruce did not respond to a request for comment.

HT DNAinfo