Husband who moved Playboy model into marital home facing jail over divorce bill

A multi-millionaire businessman and his mother may face jail after his ex-wife took him to court for not paying £750,000 in divorce settlement cash.

Richard Rothschild, 49, is locked in a legal dispute with his ex-wife Charmaine De Souza after their 21-year relationship fell apart in 2016.

The pair – who have two children –first went to court in 2018 when the entrepreneur moved his new girlfriend, American Playboy model Sherra Michelle, into the couple’s luxury £2.3million Miami condominium.

After a legal battle, a High Court judge split their assets in 2019 – handing De Souza £1.73million, while Mr Rothschild was left with £634,000.

Mr Rothschild claimed he had been left ‘penniless’ after selling his Lamborghini and properties to fund the settlement, before moving in with his elderly mother, Wanda Radziszewska.

Rothschild, whose original name was Richard Pierzchalo-Piasecki and is not part of the famous banking dynasty, was handed a suspended jail term along with his mother for breaching court orders.

Now the pair could be locked up after they allegedly blocked the sale of the former couple’s £1,225,000 west London flat, where Ms Radziszewska lives.

The flat, which is under offer, was earmarked to be sold for the settlement, handing around £500,000 to Ms de Souza.

Her barrister Charles Hale KC told the judge she ‘has been crippled by ongoing costs and debt arising from the respondents’ continued breaches of court orders and failure to comply with the simplest of requests.

‘Despite being a full-time, sole parent of two children… and running a business, the applicant has had to take on most of the burden of preparing the litigation/enforcement documents herself.

‘The behaviour is not only an affront to justice and the authority of this court, but it also amounts to financial abuse.

‘The mortgage on the property is £4,000 a month alone, which falls to the applicant alone to discharge, Wanda Radziszewska and Richard Rothschild having, characteristically, refused to honour their obligations to do so.

‘The suspension of the 2021 order committing both Richard Rothschild and Wanda must now be lifted and the consequences of their behaviour fully felt, with immediate prison sentences.’

Mr Rothschild, who failed in a challenge to what he called the ‘unfair’ divorce ruling in 2020, had argued the judge had overvalued the Miami Beach apartment by £615,000, leaving him with nothing from the marriage, while his ex got millions.

Speaking of the telecoms company, owned by Ms De Souza, he told MailOnline: ‘It was my mother who started that company, putting over £600,000 of investment in.’

Meanwhile he said Ms De Souza was ‘basically a glorified secretary.’

The Appeal Court trial continues.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.