Hapoel J’lem owner Aguiar missing in Florida

There is serious concern for the wellbeing of Guma Aguiar after his boat washed ashore and he was nowhere to be found.

By ALLON SINAI
Guma Aguiar 370 (photo credit: Adi Avishai)
Guma Aguiar 370
(photo credit: Adi Avishai)
There is serious concern for the wellbeing of Guma Aguiar after his boat washed ashore on Fort Lauderdale beach in Florida in the early morning hours Wednesday and he was nowhere to be found.
A search is ongoing for the 35-year-old millionaire, who made a fortune in oil and gas interests, and has been the majority owner of Hapoel Jerusalem basketball club since last September, while also giving millions to save Betar Jerusalem from bankruptcy.
According to the Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale police said Aguiar’s 31-foot, center console Jupiter boat, the T.T. Zion, landed on the sand east of East Las Olas Boulevard around 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, with its navigation lights on and engines still running.
Aguiar’s wife, Jamie, told police she thought her husband was in his home office when she got home Tuesday night but an employee of the Aguiar’s said Guma went out on his boat around 7:30 p.m.
Aguiar rose to prominence in Israel when he gave Betar Jerusalem $4 million in July 2009, a month before coming to Hapoel’s rescue, handing the cash-strapped club $1.5 million.
However, he would exit Israeli sports in remarkable fashion at the start of 2010 after he was forcibly admitted to the Abarbanel Psychiatric Hospital following a mental breakdown.
In September of last year, he made a surprise return when it was announced that he had acquired a 60 percent stake of the club after agreeing to transfer it $1.75 million for three seasons.