A Minnesota man claimed his company paid nearly $1.3 million to Florida-based yacht managers for a 48-foot luxury catamaran but never got the title. A federal judge has issued an arrest warrant for the boat tied up in Red Hook, according to court records filed Thursday.
Jason Bambenek told the court his Sartell, Minnesota-based affordable housing company, AB Properties, contracted to buy the JAYS ’N SEAS yacht in 2022, making final payment on the $1,226,430 deal in March 2023. It wasn’t until December 2025 that AB Properties realized the sellers, yacht-managers Navigare Yachting, had never sent the boat’s title, according to court records.
AB Properties alleged it was no mistake but fraud and sent Navigare a letter New Year’s Eve demanding return of the full purchase price, according to court records.
Bambenek’s limited liability company filed suit Jan. 13. A U.S. magistrate judge issued an arrest warrant for the 2023 Lagoon catamaran and its associated equipment and furnishings three days later.
At the time, Navigare and other rental companies were advertising the six-cabin JAYS ’N SEAS as available for charter out of Nanny Cay Resort and Marina in Tortola — part of their 2022 agreement, according to court records.
At the time of the purchase agreement, AB Properties had contracted with Navigare to charter the boat in the BVI through Summer 2030. In court filings, however, AB Properties said it had been “wrongfully deprived” of the vessel and that Navigare had used it for “their own benefit.”
As of Thursday, the boat was at American Yacht Harbor, according to court records.
A man answering Navigare’s St. Petersburg-area phone number declined to give his name but said the company had retained attorneys and would file a response to the suit soon. Both the man answering Navigare’s phone and an attorney for AB Properties suggested the suit was not newsworthy.
It was not immediately clear why a central Minnesota housing company for students and low-income families would invest $1.226 million in a Caribbean catamaran. Calls to AB Properties went to an answering machine.
Navigare, owned by Czech Republic-based PPF Group and the French company Groupe Beneteau, has a fleet of more than 300 yachts in 10 countries, according to its website.
