Jill Hertzberg and Jill Eber of the real-estate firm Coldwell Banker, has filed an extortion case against their fellow realtor Kevin Tomlinson, then of ONE Sotheby's International Realty.
The Miami Herald reported that according to Miami-Dade prosecutors, Tomlinson accused the Jills of manipulating real-estate listings to gain an edge over competitors, and has demanded $800,000 for his silence.
Newly released audio files of the conversations between the Jills and Tomlinson recorded by the Miami Beach Police were acquired and posted by the Miami Herald.
The audio recording contains Tomlinson suggesting that he would go public with the claims, ruining their careers unless they coughed up the money.
"I'm not saying you're guilty. I have to clear my conscience and sort of do the right thing," Tomlinson told the Jills in one conversation. "I'd rather this be a blip on your career that no one needs to know about ... I don't want anything to get to the Wall Street Journal," Tomlinson said in the recording.
According to the MIami New Times, the audio files of the recordings are now being used as key evidence for the extortion case filed against Tomlinson. He pleaded not guilty and is now waiting for trial on charges of felony extortion, resisting arrest with violence, and attempting to deprive an officer of his weapon.
Tomlinson accused the Jills of hiding homes that they can't sell in the 'Hot Sheet.' The 'Hot Sheet' contains listings that have expired and is a fair game in the market. By hiding the homes that they can't sell, the Jills prevented other brokers to offer their service to clients that had listings that were about to expire on the database.
Tomlinson was arrested in his penthouse at the Meridian Lofts in South Beach. According to a Miami Beach Police report, Tomlinson refused to open the doors and had resisted arrest resulting to restraining him with "strikes and holds."
