The former wife of a Formula 1 tycoon has been told to pay him £2.3million in a bitter five-year row over a luxury ski chalet.
Eric Hersman, 63, has been locked in a High Court dispute with Alexandra De Verchere, 55, over the £20million property in Courchevel, France.
As part of a divorce agreement in 2019 – following more than 20 years of marriage – Mr Hersman became the sole owner of the ski chalet and a villa in St Tropez.
However Ms De Verchere, an interior designer, refused to hand over the keys to Chalet Pearl, which she was letting out for up to £100,000 a week.
Mr Hersman, who is an American financier, said: ‘She’s been using the chalet as a personal cash machine for her and her boyfriend.
Eric Hersman, 63, has been locked in a High Court dispute with Alexandra De Verchere, 55, (left) over the £20million luxury ski chalet in Courchevel, France
Chalet Pearl is a favourite among celebrities and royalty, and boasts seven en-suite bedrooms sleeping up to 14 guests ‘in extreme luxury’
‘She’s been using my money for her lawyers too, to fight me for my own home. She wouldn’t even give me a suitcase full of my ski gear and sweaters.’
He added that he would not be surprised if Ms De Verchere’s boyfriend – Bruno de Beny – was wearing the clothes.
Mr Hersman’s career has involved arranging £20billion of finance for deals linked to the sale and development of hotels and casinos.
He also worked with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to expand it into the giant global money-making machine it is today, earning a £60million share of the business in the process.
The couple have three daughters – Elizabeth, 25, Natasha 22, and Emmanuel, 20 – and until their separation the family home had been a three-floor 5,500 sq ft flat in a townhouse a stone’s throw from the Albert Hall in central London.
Under the terms of the divorce agreement, Mr Hersman would take over mortgages on the properties and pay his French ex-wife £709,000.
But since that ruling, she has made £1.7million from Chalet Pearl, described in High Court documents as ‘a very high-end skiing chalet rented out for vast sums to very high net worth individuals’.
Ms De Verchere’s refusal to comply means she faces three months in prison if she returns to Britain, after High Court judge Mr Justice Moor sentenced her for contempt during a hearing in November.
Chalet Pearl, in the glamorous Courchevel resort in the French Alps that is a favourite among celebrities and royalty, boasts seven en-suite bedrooms sleeping up to 14 guests ‘in extreme luxury’.
Guests at Chalet Pearl are looked after by a concierge, event and lifestyle manager, a Michelin-starred chef, waitresses and four housekeepers
Hersman, who is an American financier, said: ‘She’s been using the chalet as a personal cash machine for her and her boyfriend’. (Pictured: Bruno de Beny, boyfriend of Alexandra De Verchere)
Guests are looked after by a concierge, event and lifestyle manager, a Michelin-starred chef, waitresses and four housekeepers.
Last February, Mr Justice Moor ruled that Ms De Verchere must surrender her keys and access codes and hand over all documents to enable Mr Hersman to take over the running of the alpine property.
After ignoring the order, a further hearing in November, which Ms De Verchere did not attend, saw her found guilty of contempt.
Mr Justice Moor said: ‘The court expects and requires compliance with its orders. It is entitled to take a very serious view if there is no such compliance.’
At the latest hearing, last month at the High Court in London, Mr Hersman claimed more than £14million in compensation.
The judge ultimately ruled that Ms De Verchere owed her ex-husband £3,062,000, minus the £709,707 lump sum relating to their divorce.
In his summing-up Mr Justice Moor said: ‘I have found the wife to be in flagrant breach of my earlier order. She continues to rent out Chalet Pearl when she has absolutely no right to do so.
‘She can only do so by representing to the prospective renters that she is the owner and that [Mr Hersman] is not.’
Mr Hersman is also applying for possession of the property through the French courts, which he said has already cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He added: ‘She’s now clearly been told by a judge she can’t tell people she’s renting the chalet out to them. It’s mine. As is the money she’s been told to pay me.
‘I’m involved in court cases over this in France as well. They take their time, but I should have the chalet back by Christmas.’
