CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The co-founder of Doral-based multi-level marketing company Monat is facing a felony charge after police said he “intentionally and deliberately” struck a construction worker in Coral Gables.
Police arrested Luis Urdaneta, who serves as Monat’s chairman, on Wednesday in connection with the January incident.
A Coral Gables Police Department arrest report states that Urdaneta, 64, was behind the wheel of a two-toned Rolls-Royce when he approached a construction area in the 1500 block of San Remo Avenue just after 2:45 p.m. on Jan. 9.
Police said the worker, who was positioning barricades, motioned for Urdaneta, driving west in the eastbound lane, to turn around, but instead, the businessman “refused and began to enter the street closure while the victim was in his direct path.”
The report states that the worker continued to direct Urdaneta to turn around, but he instead “intentionally continued to drive forward, striking and pushing the victim out of the way.”
“The victim stated (that) the driver looked directly at him and motioned with his right hand as if he wanted the victim to move out of his way,” the report states.
Police said a witness corroborated the worker’s account, stating that the witness saw Urdaneta “intentionally use his vehicle to force the victim to move out of his path,” took a picture of his plate and both he and the worker picked him out of a photo lineup.
Officers went to Urdaneta’s home, assessed at a $6.5 million market value, on Pine Drive in Miami-Dade’s unincorporated Ponce-Davis section to arrest him on a charge of aggravated battery on Wednesday.
Police said Urdaneta claimed he was driving to Whole Foods when the worker “suddenly jumped in front of his vehicle and struck his windshield with an open hand.”
According to the report, Urdaneta told officers that “he left the area because he was scared.”
Urdaneta, a native of Venezuela who founded Monat with his son Ray in 2014, appeared in Miami-Dade bond court on Thursday morning and had his charges read to him through a Spanish interpreter.
Judge Victoria Sigler found probable cause and set his bond at $5,000 and ordered him to stay away from the worker.
As of late Thursday morning, he remained in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Local 10 News has contacted Monat seeking comment.
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