Cardone, Brecka settle federal lawsuit over breakup; state lawsuits remain

Image shows Grant Cardone, left, and Gary Brecka. — Grant Cardone, left, and Gary Brecka continue to battle in court.

By John Hilton

High-profile social media stars and former business partners Grant Cardone and Gary Brecka have “amicably settled” a federal lawsuit filed by Cardone Ventures.

The settlement leaves Cardone and Brecka to battle it out in competing state court lawsuits.

On Friday, Chief Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga cancelled a hearing set for Monday and closed the case. If either side fails to adhere to settlement terms, either party can petition the Southern District of Florida court to reopen the case within 60 days.

Settlement terms were not disclosed. Carone did not respond to an email message seeking comment. A spokesperson for Brecka did not respond to a message.

Cardone and Brecka accepted the court’s mediation request last month, selected a mediator and scheduled an Aug. 26 Zoom call. Altonaga had set a trial for February 2026.

Both men are popular social media personalities who joined forces in 10X Health System, a multi-million-dollar wellness company that uses data-driven strategies to improve human health and longevity.

A related lawsuit filed in state court by Brecka remains active, as of Monday. Earlier this month, Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Rebull gave defendants Cardone Ventures and its CEO Brandon Dawson a partial victory in their motion to dismiss.

In his lawsuit, Brecka claims “predatory efforts by Dawson and Cardone Ventures to take over 10X Health and edge out Brecka and [his wife, Sage] Workinger through nefarious means and breaches of contractual agreements.”

Rebull dismissed two counts of breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against Dawson and Cardone Ventures, as well as one count of breach of contract against Cardone Ventures. The judge allowed other counts of breach of contract to continue, giving 10X Health until the end of April to respond.

On March 17, Cardone Ventures also filed a state lawsuit in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. Employing stylistic legal writing, Cardone accuses Brecka of earning $13 million of “side hustle revenue” in 2024 via eight entities and more than 20 trademark applications in the health and wellness space.

The lawsuit claims that Brecka inflated his earnings at the expense of 10X Health.

“They say there are three things in the world that deserve no mercy: hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny,” the lawsuit begins. “Right now, few people could wear that triple crown better than Gary Brecka, the self-proclaimed ‘Rule Brecka.’”

A fractured relationship

Brecka had been the president and managing principal of Life Asset Group (LAG), located in Miami Beach, FL. LAG dealt exclusively in the life settlement market, primarily in a brokerage capacity. Previously, he was the founder of a broker-dealership.

He left the insurance industry to pursue other health opportunities, and in 2017 partnered with Workinger to start the health and wellness companies Streamline Medical Group Naples and Streamline Wellness.

In September 2021, 10X Health Ventures was formed and acquired Streamline, and Brecka and Workinger became co-founders of the company 10X Health, court documents say. Brecka launched the successful The Ultimate Human Podcast two years later.

By then, relations between Brecka, Cardone, and Dawson were significantly strained.

In April 2024, “10X Health ambushed Brecka and Workinger with an attempted corporate restructuring, pressuring them to sign unfavorable conversion documents on an unreasonably tight timeframe. Brecka and Workinger refused,” the Brecka lawsuit alleged.

In his state lawsuit, Cardone claimed of Brecka: "As his success exploded, so did extravagant spending habits, which spelled financial ruin just 10 years prior. Instead of honoring their contracts and fiduciary duty of loyalty, Brecka and Workinger concocted a plan to siphon clients, business, and opportunities away from 10X Health."

Cardone claims Brecka sold competing products under the “Ultimate Human” brand, and infringed upon a registered trademark owned by a medical doctor introduced to him by 10X Health.

Defamation claims

Brecka filed a second, $100 million defamation lawsuit against Elena Cardone, Grant Cardone’s wife, over a social media post.

The lawsuit refers to a November Instagram clip shared by Elena Cardone. The video clip of Brecka and Sean "Diddy" Coombs, a prior 10X Health client, was shared with her more than 688,000 Instagram followers.

Elena Cardone posted the clip after Brecka and Workinger left 10X Health and added the comment, "boy bye!" the lawsuit claims.

In her motion to dismiss, Elena Cardone notes that "Workinger herself published the content first alluding to the 'relationship' between the Plaintiffs and Mr. Combs." Workinger added that the couple has "no connections to [Sean Combs] beyond helping him for a short time on his health journey with 10X Health” through her comment on the Instagram post, the motion adds.

Cardone declined to post a comment on Workinger’s Combs comment and then deleted the Instagram post, the motion says.

According to court documents, Workinger withdrew one count of defamation. A May 1 hearing is scheduled on Elena Cardone’s motion to dismiss, according to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida.

InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.