{"id":359,"date":"2026-05-12T17:12:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=359"},"modified":"2026-05-12T17:12:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T17:12:56","slug":"two-of-hollywoods-top-stars-just-got-sued-by-miami-dade-cops-heres-why-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=359","title":{"rendered":"Two of Hollywood\u2019s top stars just got sued by Miami-Dade cops. Here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Two Miami cops aren\u2019t happy about how they were portrayed in a Netflix film, and now they\u2019re seeking justice \u2014 and damages.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=358\">How Spirit\u2019s collapse changed the economy \u2014 and lives. \u2018Back to ramen noodles\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>On May 6, Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana of the Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office filed a defamation suit in the Southern District of Florida against Artists Equity. That\u2019s the production company founded by the leads of \u201cThe Rip,\u201d Oscar winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Falco Pictures LLC, which also produced the project, is named as a co-defendant in the federal lawsuit.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The two deputies allege that the crime thriller, inspired by the largest cartel-cash seizure in South Florida\u2019s history, damaged their reputations, despite their real names not being used.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Although promoted as fiction, \u201cThe Rip\u201d is based on the infamous raid that went down June 29, 2016, in which Miami-Dade police seized over $20 million from a suspected marijuana trafficker from an attic at a Miami Lakes home.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Damon plays Lt. Dane Dumars and Affleck plays Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne, who were part of the cash seizure (or \u201crip\u201d) and subsequently uncovered corruption within what was then known as the Miami-Dade Police Department.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Colombian cartel stashed the money in buckets in the Netflix flick, but it actually came from a Cuban marijuana grow-house ring, according to Miami Herald archives.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit claims that \u201cthe film\u2019s use of unique, non-generic details\u201d of the investigation, \u201ccombined with its Miami-Dade setting and portrayal of a narcotics team, creates a reasonable inference that the officers depicted are Plaintiffs.\u201d Smith and Santana are seen as \u201ccorrupt, criminal, and professionally unethical,\u201d the complaint adds.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cApart from the fact that a large seizure occurred, the events portrayed in the Film did not happen,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The deputies\u2019 lawyers demand \u201ca public retraction and correction,\u201d including \u201cthe addition of a prominent disclaimer\u201d as well as monetary damages.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>There is no monetary figure yet as the litigation is still in its early stages, the plaintiff\u2019s lawyer Ignacio Alvarez of ALGO law offices in Coral Gables told the Miami Herald on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=357\">Cuba\u2019s new migration law changes little for Cuban Americans. Here is why<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Alvarez says the reason for the filing is that the filmmakers \u201cdidn\u2019t do their due diligence and ran with\u201d the story. He conceded some basic stuff concerning Santana and Smith was right, such as the uniforms, badges and the unit name, the Tactical Narcotics Team.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Despite a disclaimer at the end saying the story was \u201cinspired by true events,\u201d Alvarez says that the average person came away from the movie thinking the plot was real and that his clients are dirty cops.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe disclaimer is all the way at the end, after the credits. I had to put on my glasses to read it,\u201d he said. \u201cNow they have a cloud over their shoulder. It has destroyed their credibility and reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>As per the docket, the \u201cGood Will Hunting\u201d stars\u2019 law firm Ballard Spahr, with offices in South Florida, wrote a letter to Alvarez in March 2026 to address the initial claims:<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile \u2018The Rip\u2019 borrows some of the striking details of the real-life police raid that inspired it \u2014 including the orange five-gallon buckets containing millions of dollars in cash concealed within the wall of a house, the cash-sniffing dog, and the painstaking procedure of counting the currency on site \u2014 it does not purport to tell the true story of that incident or portray real people,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t the first time \u201cThe Rip\u201d has made local headlines for the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Despite the actual event occurring in Miami Lakes, the dark, gritty film was set and partially filmed in neighboring Hialeah. In January, after its release, Hialeah Mayor Bryan Calvo pondered legal action against Netflix about the city\u2019s negative portrayal.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Jose Smith, a former municipal attorney for the cities of Miami Beach and North Miami Beach told the Miami Herald at the time that there was no legal basis to sue Netflix due to First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=356\">Broward school board approves plan to eliminate 1,000 jobs to save $54 million<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><\/p>\n<p>This story was originally published <span>May 11, 2026 at 4:32 PM<span>.<\/span><\/span><!-- --><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new lawsuit says \u2018The Rip\u2019 movie, inspired by a 2016 bust in South Florida, hurt the reputations of two Miami-Dade cops<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Two of Hollywood\u2019s top stars just got sued by Miami-Dade cops. 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