In Florida, some Serenata Beach Club members take aim at R.I. businessman Michael Mota - The Boston Globe (2025)

Mota arrived at Serenata in February with grand plans and reassurances for the wealthy members, several members told the Globe. He vowed to fix Serenata’s problems, open a new restaurant concept, host events, and make Serenata “the best place possible,” they said.

After the club went into foreclosure in July, he told members that he wanted to buy Serenata at auction on Sept. 12 and develop a boutique hotel on the property. In an Aug. 31 email to members, which was obtained by the Globe, Mota claimed to have “received a letter of interest from a group that works with the Ritz Carlton.”

Neither Mota nor Molly Butler responded to questions from the Globe.

“Our [first] impression was he was ‘the money guy,’” said retired lawyer James Valenti, who joined Serenata a decade ago. “The club had closed for money reasons and then it opens, and the impression was he was with some kind of equity fund. Whatever it was, turned out not to be true.”

Some members and former employees soon found out what was true: A simple internet search revealed that the club’s new manager — and prospective owner — had left a series of debts, lawsuits, and angry former vendors, investors, and customers in the Northeast.

Skyline at Waterplace LLC was in trouble with the city of Providence over years of problems including late rent payments, unpaid taxes, fire code violations, trash, unpaid vendors and employees, and ongoing friction with city officials. There were lawsuits in New Jersey over unpaid bills from his “The Sopranos”-themed conference, SopranoCon. People who paid thousands of dollars for Mota’s cryptocurrency, VirtualCoin, complained that it was unusable. Mota was involved in a failed attempt to foreclose on the former Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, where he promised to develop housing for homeless families and veterans. His Smithfield restaurant, Lola’s Lounge, lasted a short time and closed, leaving vendors clamoring for payment.

The complaints weren’t limited to the Northeast. The Sandpiper Bay Resort in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where Mota was a paid adviser in 2023, was issued one of the largest penalties in Florida’s history in January for chopping nearly 17,800 square feet of mangroves along the St. Lucie River in May 2023. When questioned by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Mota identified himself as a representative of the owner of the property. Later, in an email to the Globe, Mota denied involvement and blamed the destruction on a non-existent tornado.

At Serenata, Mota seemed to be following a familiar pattern.

In April, Mota organized a “Lobsters and Mobsters” dinner featuring some minor actors from HBO’s “The Sopranos.” In July, there was “Sinatra & Pasta,” a $75 spaghetti and meatball dinner with a Frank Sinatra tribute singer. On Aug. 1, the club’s restaurant was renamed: Lola.

In emails obtained by the Globe, Mota told members he was addressing issues. But some told the Globe that the club’s problems intensified. They described sudden changes in billing, new mandatory charges including a monthly $250 minimum spend, and pressure to pay up front as the club headed into foreclosure. There were equipment failures, broken air conditioning, and water leaks.

More staff left. The longtime membership director filed a lawsuit against Mota, Molly Butler, and Serenata, alleging that her paychecks bounced even before Mota took over management of the club, and that Mota terminated her when she complained. Sam Blumberger, a college student who started as an aquatics attendant and ended up as a manager as people left, complained to the US Labor Department about not being paid and said Mota had told him and other employees that the bank accounts were frozen. After he and his mother talked to a local TV station in late August, Blumberger said that Mota threatened to lodge harassment charges. “He said if I go to another news outlet, it won’t be smart,” Blumberger told the Globe. Mota eventually paid him.

Members who pushed back against Mota also quickly found their memberships suspended or terminated.

In mid-August, Valenti and another attorney formed a group that would allow members to buy equity in the club and make their own bid on it at auction — without Mota. About 150 people attended their first meeting, Valenti said, and many committed to buying the $35,000 membership shares. In three weeks, Valenti said, the group was a third of the way to its goal and had people willing to provide bridge financing.

In an August email, Mota tried to dissuade members from joining the group.

“A particular member has attempted to rally 550 members to pay $35,000 each to try to purchase the club and turn it into a private club owned by its members,” Mota wrote in an email to Serenata members, which was obtained by the Globe. “This individual has no understanding of what it actually takes, the debt involved beyond possibly buying the real estate, and hasn’t asked to meet to understand the current state of the club. This is dangerous and misleading.”

“The idea that everyone can come together, win at the auction, and take over without any other debts is a fantasy,” Mota wrote.

Mota terminated Valenti’s membership on Aug. 29 and told the other members that Valenti’s membership was cancelled because he owed money. Valenti emphatically denied the allegations and said Mota was retaliating because of the equity group.

On Sept. 6, Valenti went to happy hour at the club as a guest of other members. Mota had the 76-year-old arrested for trespassing. Valenti was released hours later to the custody of his children and granddaughter.

Valenti said that his arrest has made other members more determined to buy the club at auction and keep it out of Mota’s hands.

“The outpouring of support for a member-owned club has never been stronger,” Valenti told the Globe. “It has reinforced what people already thought about him, and it has encouraged what we’re doing.”

On Sept. 7, about 100 people packed into a room at Serenata to hear Mota’s pitch before Thursday’s auction. One of them, Robert Olson, an architect who has been a member of Serenata since 2015, told the Globe that the club has special meaning for many members.

“For some, it’s the only access to the ocean, and for others, it’s a place for friends and grandchildren,” he said. “It’s a place where people have endearing feelings and make lifelong friends.”

But as he listened at the meeting, he said, he became skeptical of Mota’s plans.

“Mota is terrific on his feet,” Olson said, but the hotel concept could face problems. The land on which Mota said he would build the hotel is located in a residential area, and getting approval to build would be difficult, he said.

On Thursday, Jackson, Florida-based North American Trading Group Inc. edged out Mota at the auction, with a winning bid of $1,500,100. WJXT-TV reported that the company had been assigned the $11.8 million judgment from the lenders seeking the foreclosure. The property is assessed at $4.7 million, according to the county assessor’s office.

Before the auction began, members said they knew an outsider could swoop in and own it. Some said they hoped it would not be Mota.

“My wife and I hope he doesn’t win the bid because we’re afraid of the chaos at Skyline could happen here at our beloved Serenata,” Laura and Luis Villarroel said in a text to the Globe.

This article has been updated with the result of the auction.

Amanda Milkovits can be reached at amanda.milkovits@globe.com. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.