Ex-chef for ‘Queen of Versailles’ alleges in a lawsuit that Siegel sexually harassed him
Known as the “Queen of Versailles,” Jackie Siegel is facing sexual harassment allegations that she fondled her private chef and repeatedly tried to seduce him, according to court documents.
Orlando resident Jose Flores filed a federal lawsuit for unspecified damages Tuesday in U.S. District Court after he said he was sexually harassed almost immediately once he began working in the Westgate moguls David and Jackie Siegel’s private home, cooking meals for the family and catering parties they hosted.
He is suing Central Florida Investments, the parent company of Westgate Resorts, which is run by her husband. The couple gained worldwide attention for their lavish lifestyle and efforts to build a 90,000-square-foot home in Windermere in the documentary “The Queen of Versailles.”
The Siegels unequivocally denied the allegations, their attorney Michael Marder wrote in an email.
“Simply put, the allegations in this complaint are absolutely false and these events never happened,” he wrote. “Westgate and Mrs. Siegel will vigorously defend this claim.”
According to the lawsuit, “Mrs. Siegel exclaimed that she was happy she finally had a Latin chef.”
If you’re a Latin chef, then you must be good in bed, she told him, the lawsuit states.
Flores, who first started working in the home in 2015, feared he would lose his job as the sexual harassment went on, he said.
“I’m your boss,” Jackie Siegel said, according to the lawsuit. His job was “to make her happy or else.”
“The sexual harassment continued with Mrs. Siegel asking Plaintiff to ‘take me to bed’ or ‘tuck me into bed,’” the lawsuit said, adding that she wanted him to go to a “sex room” she kept in the house.
Her words escalated to physical touching, the lawsuit contends, as he accused Jackie Siegel of groping him several times and rubbing up against him.
Flores claimed Siegel walked around the kitchen in see-through nightgowns and once exposed her buttocks in front of Flores and one of her daughters.
“Her daughter exclaimed, ‘Mom! Don’t you see the Chef is here!’ to which Mrs. Siegel responded, ‘It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before,’” the lawsuit said.
Once, Siegel dressed as a “sexy nurse” for Halloween, flashed her breasts in front of Flores and a Westgate banquet manager, the lawsuit said.
She told Flores “she knew what could make Plaintiff feel better,” the lawsuit said.
Flores said he asked her to stop to no avail. Instead, it got worse. Jackie Siegel masturbated in front of him “on more than one occasion,” the lawsuit said.
Flores “had enough and decided to report the sexual harassment to Tom Gentile, executive chef. Mr. Gentile’s first and very telling response was ‘You too?’” the lawsuit said.
Gentile reported it up the chain of command at the corporate office but Flores said his allegations were not properly investigated.
He filed a formal complaint with human resources, and that’s when Flores said Jackie Siegel complained about his work performance.
He kept working at her home after his request for a transfer was denied, Flores said. Jackie Siegel glared at him when she saw him, which made him feel uncomfortable and changed his work hours.
Nearly two weeks later, Westgate terminated him “citing purely pretextual reasons,” he said in the suit.
But Marder disputed Flores’ story.
“To be clear, Mr. Flores was terminated by Westgate for cause, after he was caught taking restaurant items without authority for his personal use,” Marder wrote. “We have also learned that Mr. Flores falsified time records on numerous occasions, and collected wages for dates and times that he did not actually work, which are just additional instances in which Mr. Flores engaged in inappropriate conduct to obtain benefits for his own personal financial gain.”
Marder added that Westgate plans to try to recover the benefits that Flores “improperly obtained while working for Westgate.”
Flores’ attorney Gary Martoccio said he was aware of Westgate’s allegations but his client denied doing any wrong to warrant his termination.
Flores said he filed complaints with both the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Florida Commission on Human Relations on Aug. 26, 2019.
In February, the EEOC issued a notice to Flores that’s called a dismissal and notice of rights, the lawsuit said.
According to the EEOC’s website, the federal agency sends that out if it’s “unable to conclude that there is reasonable cause to believe that discrimination occurred … This notice informs the charging party that she or he has the right to file a lawsuit in federal court within 90 days.”
Martoccio said he was looking forward to proving the case in court, saying he believed other employees would testify on Flores’ behalf.
Jackie and her husband, David Siegel, who announced recently on social media they renewed their vows on New Year’s Eve after 20 years of marriage, have built their timeshare empire in Orlando.
David Siegel also has faced his own accusations of sexual harassment.
In 2008, the federal jury awarded nearly $5.4 million to Dawn Georgette Myers, who accused David Spiegel of unwanted touching and sexual propositions and then filed a lawsuit.
Myers, a former spa manager and timeshare saleswoman who worked for him for 14 years, accused her boss of offering her $1 million for sex.
David Siegel denied it, telling the Sentinel at the time, “Eight people on the jury all bought the story.”