Meet the Billionaire Accused of Stealing Sand from Malibu's Ultra Tony Broad Beach

Mark Attanasio, billionaire businessman and owner of the Milwaukee Brewers MLB baseball team, has stealing sand from Malibu's Broad Beach to use at his private beachfront mansion, a civil suit says.

“This case is about a private property owner using a public beach as their own personal sandbox and the disturbing conversion of a public natural resource (i.e., sand from Broad Beach) for a nearby homeowner’s personal, private use,” the lawsuit says.

Not only is the activity disturbing the delicate ecosystem along the shore Attansio's workers from the company named by plaintiffs, JILK Heavy Construction Inc., are utilizing "enormous excavators in tidal zones in the ocean, dragging along any materials, oils, and other pollutants the excavators carry or discharge," which, the suit argues, "expose local marine life to potentially hazardous biproducts."

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The suit was filed by Attansio's next-door neighbor James Kohlberg, son of Jerome Kohlberg, who founded the global investment company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., who said he has videotaped the sand removal as his neighbor dumps sand at his Broad Street property. "Plaintiff, a next door neighbor to the offending actions, has observed and videotaped Defendants’ repeated bad acts," the suit says.

The suit calls for a stop to the construction, for the sand to be replaced and for fines to be issued for violating the California Coastal Act, a state law that sets out to protect "natural and scenic coastal resources," the suit states.

Attanasio’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.