Federal Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for 48-foot JAYS 'N SEAS Catamaran

A U.S. magistrate judge issued an arrest warrant for the 48-foot 2023 Lagoon catamaran JAYS ’N SEAS and “its associated equipment and furnishings” after AB Properties alleged the vessel’s title was never delivered, court filings show. AB Properties characterizes the dispute as a multimillion-dollar fight over a boat it contracted to buy in 2022.

AB Properties, a Sartell, Minnesota-based affordable housing company tied to Jason Bambenek, made a final payment of $1,226,430 in March 2023 for the six-cabin JAYS ’N SEAS. AB Properties says it discovered in December 2025 that Navigare Yachting had never sent the boat’s title and called the omission “it was no mistake but fraud,” sending Navigare “a letter New Year’s Eve demanding return of the full purchase price.”

The company’s limited liability entity filed suit on Jan. 13, and a U.S. magistrate judge issued an arrest warrant for the catamaran “three days later,” the complaint and docket entries state. Court records filed Thursday indicate the arrest-warrant order applies to the 2023 Lagoon catamaran and its associated equipment and furnishings; those same filings place the boat at American Yacht Harbor as of Thursday.

The reporting contains two location references: one line describes the boat as “tied up in Red Hook,” and separate court records list American Yacht Harbor as the vessel’s location as of Thursday. The six-cabin JAYS ’N SEAS was advertised for charter out of Nanny Cay Resort and Marina in Tortola under arrangements described as part of the 2022 agreement between AB Properties and Navigare, and AB Properties had contracted with Navigare to charter the boat in the British Virgin Islands through Summer 2030.

In its complaint AB Properties said it had been “wrongfully deprived” of the vessel and alleged Navigare had used it for “their own benefit.” The payment has also been described in filings as “nearly $1.3 million,” underscoring the financial stakes of the dispute.

Navigare Yachting, identified in filings as Florida-based yacht managers, was reached by phone at a St. Petersburg-area number; the person who answered “declined to give his name but said the company had retained attorneys and would file a response to the suit soon.” Both the man answering Navigare’s phone and an attorney for AB Properties suggested the suit was not newsworthy, the filings note.

Key procedural details remain absent from the public filings on file: the complaint does not include a judge’s name or a docketed calendar date for the arrest-warrant issuance beyond “three days later,” and counsel names for both parties have not been published. The arrest warrant remains in place for JAYS ’N SEAS and its equipment while court filings and any forthcoming response from Navigare will determine whether the vessel is seized, returned, or otherwise entangled in further litigation.