Guma Aguiar
Guma AguiarIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Jewish millionaire and philanthropist Guma Aguiar may be alive, said his wife’s attorney says five months after he disappeared on his boat in a storm off the Florida coast in June.

Attorney William Scherer, representing Aguiar’s wife Jamie, told Florida’s CBS4 local television that they are investigating a report that Guma’s sister Angelika is moving to the Netherlands, where a close business partner of Aguiar also is reportedly living.

Scherer said he wants to find out if Aguiar is living there, also. Jamie and Angelika are involved in a dispute over his estate, estimated to be worth approximately $100 million, including more than a dozen properties Aguiar owns in Israel.

He donated generously to Orthodox Jewish charities, including Chabad.

“It could be a coincidence but Jamie hopes there’s information about her husband and that he may still be alive so we’ll see,” attorney William Scherer told CBS4.

CBS 4 News was unable to reach Aguiar’s mother, Ellen, or her attorney for comment. She has claimed that her son gave her and her daughters several properties. Guma and Jamie have four children.

Scherer charged that the sisters are avoiding being served subpoenas to give depositions and added, “We want to know what if anything they know about Guma’s disappearance.”

Fort Lauderdale, Florida police and Coast Guard officials possess a video that shows Aguiar before he disappeared from his home on June 19. The video show him on his boat and going to sea later in the day in a stormy sea.

The boat was discovered several hours later, but there has been no clue to the whereabouts of Aguiar. No foul play is suspected, and suicide has not been ruled out, particularly considering that he has a history of mental illness.