Guma Aguiar

Guma Leandro Aguiar (May 31, 1977 – disappeared June 19, 2012; declared legally dead January 29, 2015 ) was a Brazilian-born American energy industrialist and millionaire businessman who split his time between the United States and Israel. Aguiar was recognized as a philanthropist who supported a variety of Jewish causes including Nefesh B'Nefesh and the March of the Living. In July 2009, Aguiar invested over $4 million (USD) in support of the Beitar Jerusalem Football Club.

On June 20, 2012, Aguiar was reported missing after his unoccupied boat was found on Fort Lauderdale Beach. The day before Aguiar went missing, a federal court judge ordered his mental health records be presented to the court as part of a lawsuit between him and his uncle Thomas Kaplan.

Aguiar was declared legally dead in January 2015.

Early life and education Aguiar was born on May 31, 1977 in Rio de Janeiro. He was one of four children of Ellen ( Kaplan), a Jewish mother, and Otto de Souza Aguiar, Though Ellen is halachically Jewish, she considers herself a born-again Christian; Guma was raised as a Christian and the rest of the Aguiar family practiced Christianity as well. However, because he was born to an halachically Jewish mother, he did not need to formally convert.

His family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when Aguiar was one year old. Aguiar enrolled at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina but dropped out after one year. Leor Energy has a financial alliance with its first strategic equity partner, Goldman Sachs & Co.

Aguiar joined Cadence Resources in July 2002 and served as a Member of the Board of Directors of Corporate Development until June 30, 2003. He donated more than US$8 million to fund the activities of Nefesh B'Nefesh, a Zionist organization which promotes Aliyah (Jewish immigration) from North America and the United Kingdom to Israel. He was a supporter of the March of the Living, which organizes educational programming in Poland and Israel to enable students to better understand the Holocaust and the rebirth of Zionism and the creation of the modern Jewish state of Israel.

For his philanthropic activities, in April 2009, The Jewish Week recognized Aguiar as one of the "36 under 36″ (one of 36 of the most influential Jewish leaders under the age of 36).

In 2008, Aguiar founded the "Defender of Jerusalem Award" which recognizes public figures who have taken uniquely strong stances in support of Jerusalem.

In October 2009, Aguiar and his wife Jamie served as the co-chairs of the "Facing Tomorrow" Conference in Jerusalem organized by Israel's President Shimon Peres. During the conference, Aguiar was featured on a panel with the President and offered his vision of Israeli society and culture from the perspective of one of the country's most recognized entrepreneurs.

Jerusalem sports On July 21, 2009, Aguiar announced an investment of over US$4 million to support the Beitar Jerusalem Football Team which, despite a massive fan following, had grown into financial distress and was on the brink of collapse prior to Aguiar's financial contributions. Aguiar was motivated to purchase the team out of his love for the sport combined with a passion for Jerusalem and Israel.

In September 2009, Aguiar took his commitment to Jerusalem sports to the next level when he invested over $1.5 million in the city's leading basketball franchise, Hapoel Jerusalem.

Since these investments, Aguiar became a fixture in Israeli social circles and regularly met with members of Knesset and local political and business leaders.

Aguiar managed the teams and was in contact with the general managers of both Betar (Itzik Kornfein) and Hapoel (Dani Klein). In November 2009, Aguiar travelled with Kornfein to Brazil with the goal of scouting out players for the Betar team. He made an effort to be at team practices and met with the players and staff of both teams.

Beitar fans attribute Beitar's winning the Toto Cup on 26 January 2010 to Aguiar's financial backing, although it was won while Aguiar was hospitalized in a psychiatric facility. About a half an hour after winning, Itzik Kornfein took the Toto Cup to the psychiatric hospital but was not permitted to enter. He asked the security staff to take in the trophy to the hospitalized Aguiar.

Personal life In 2005, Aguiar married his Westminster Academy high school sweetheart, Jamie Elizabeth Black. They had four children: Jacob, Lilly, Jonathan, and Leo. Aguiar was a Zionist. Aguiar publicly stated that the police were out to get him and that "When I got to the prison [an officer] took my kippah off and then tried to convert me to Christianity." Aguiar hired Alan Dershowitz to represent him.

Aguiar's wife Jamie filed a domestic violence protective order against him in the summer of 2011. He then filed for divorce, but both the domestic violence allegations and the divorce filing were stopped. Aguiar was admitted to psychiatric hospitals several times.

On January 14, 2010, Aguiar was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in Israel by his mother. In 2011, due to his mental illness, his wife Jamie and mother Ellen petitioned a Miami-Dade judge for guardianship over Aguiar. The court agreed, and appointed an emergency guardianship over Aguiar.

Aguiar was sued by his uncle Thomas Kaplan. As part of that lawsuit, the judge presiding over the case, John O'Sullivan, found that Aguiar's psychosis "manifested itself in both grandiose and paranoid delusions," for example, Aguiar's belief that he (Aguiar) was being followed by snipers.

Disappearance On June 20, 2012, Aguiar's 31-foot, center console Jupiter boat, named the T.T. Zion, landed on Fort Lauderdale Beach east of East Las Olas Boulevard around 1:15 a.m., with its navigation lights on and engines still running, according to the Sun-Sentinel. Sea Tow, the company that Fort Lauderdale authorities contracted to tow the boat, said that the vessel appeared seaworthy and did not believe a mechanical problem had occurred. Aguiar's wallet and cell phone were found on board, but no sign of him or any other passenger was found. Authorities on ATVs searched up and down the beach, but found no sign of Aguiar. The Coast Guard commenced a search at sea.

Aguiar was declared legally dead on January 29, 2015, two years and seven months after his disappearance.