Miami officers sue Artists Equity over Netflix film 'The Rip', alleging defamation

UNITED STATES — Two serving officers with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office have filed a federal defamation lawsuit against the production companies behind Netflix's crime thriller The Rip, alleging the film falsely portrays them as corrupt officers who contemplated stealing seized drug proceeds.

Sergeant Jason Smith and Detective Jonathan Santana filed the verified complaint on 6 May 2026 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The defendants are Artists Equity, LLC, and Falco Pictures, LLC.

Artists Equity was co-founded by actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who also produced and star in the film. Falco Pictures is a Delaware-registered production company that co-produced The Rip in association with Artists Equity.

The Rip, directed by Joe Carnahan, was released on Netflix in January 2026. It follows a Miami-Dade narcotics team that discovers more than US$20 million in cash concealed inside a residential property.

The film opens with the declaration "inspired by true events" in large block letters approximately 36 seconds into its running time. A disclaimer clarifying that characters and events have been fictionalised appears only after the film's conclusion and closing credits.

The real investigation

On 29 June 2016, officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department's Narcotics Bureau executed a search warrant on a property in Miami Lakes, a city bordering Hialeah in Miami-Dade County.

According to the verified complaint, Santana served as the lead detective, drafting the search warrant affidavit and leading the investigative actions that resulted in the discovery of concealed currency and contraband. Smith served as the on-scene supervisory sergeant.

During the operation, officers located currency in plain view inside the master closet of the residence. A currency-detection canine gave a positive alert inside the property. Investigators subsequently identified an arched nook concealing a false wall within the attic.

Behind that wall, officers discovered orange buckets filled with bundles of US$100 bills and a loaded TEC-9 pistol. Sledgehammers were used to breach the drywall and extract the buckets from the concealed compartment.

After three separate counts conducted over approximately two days, the total recorded amount reached US$21,970,411 — described in the complaint as the largest cash seizure in Miami-Dade Police Department history.

How the film mirrors the real events

The complaint alleges the film replicates at least eight verifiable details from the June 2016 operation. These include the Miami-Dade County setting, the recovery of more than US$20 million, and the presence of a cash-detection canine alerting at the property.

Further details allegedly replicated include an arched nook with a statue positioned in front of a false wall, orange buckets concealed within a residential wall, and the physical breach of drywall to access those buckets.

The complaint also notes the replication of currency packaged in cellophane with marked denominations and the recovery of a loaded TEC-9 firearm inside one of the buckets — details the plaintiffs describe as distinctive and non-generic.

In the film, Damon plays Lieutenant Dane Dumars and Affleck plays Detective Sergeant J.D. Byrne. The complaint states Damon's character supervises the investigative team and serves as on-scene supervisor during the search and seizure.

Affleck's character acts as the lead detective, obtains consent to search the premises, and participates directly in the discovery of the concealed cash. These roles, the complaint asserts, mirror precisely the functions performed by Smith and Santana in the real operation.

The fictional portrayal

Beyond the factual details, the complaint alleges the film depicts the narcotics team engaging in fabricated criminal conduct. This includes conspiring to steal the seized drug proceeds and lying to a homeowner to obtain consent to enter the property.

The film also allegedly depicts the team conducting operations outside normal law-enforcement channels, communicating directly with cartel members, and participating in arson while attempting to remove bags of money from the scene.

The complaint further alleges scenes in which team members are implicated in the murder of a narcotics captain, and Affleck's character shoots and kills a federal agent rather than placing him under arrest.

The plaintiffs contend the final shooting scene can reasonably be interpreted as an execution-style, retaliatory killing and does not leave the viewer with a positive impression of the characters identified with them.

The defendants have contested this characterisation. In their written response to the plaintiffs' demands, an attorney for Artists Equity argued that Damon's character was simulating an intent to steal in order to identify a corrupt member of the team, and characterised the shooting of the federal agent as an obvious act of self-defence.

The question of attribution

A further dimension of the dispute concerns whose account the film is based upon. The complaint alleges that Captain Christopher Casiano of the Miami-Dade Police Department was compensated for providing information used as the foundation of the story.

The complaint states Casiano was not assigned to the Narcotics Bureau at the time of the 2016 seizure, did not execute the search warrant, and was not present when the concealed currency was recovered.

In promotional interviews, Damon and Affleck attributed the story to Casiano, stating they spent time with him and other narcotics officers in preparation for their roles. The complaint alleges this attribution has further obscured the plaintiffs' connection to their own investigation.

According to the complaint, a consultant on the film who was also a Miami-Dade officer present at the property room on the day of the seizure subsequently contacted the plaintiffs on behalf of director Joe Carnahan.

This consultant reportedly apologised for Casiano's representation of the events and offered to arrange consulting or acting roles for the plaintiffs in a future production — an overture the complaint characterises as an acknowledgement of the actual officers' identities.

Community and professional fallout

The complaint states that following the trailer's release in September 2025 and the film's distribution from January 2026, third parties repeatedly approached the plaintiffs to ask which characters they were and how many buckets they kept.

A Miami-Dade County State Attorney contacted one of the plaintiffs after the trailer's release to inquire whether theft allegations had ever been made in connection with the 2016 case, and stated that his office would be investigating the matter.

A second State Attorney subsequently telephoned to ask whether the plaintiff had received any financial gain from the film, and added: "I can't believe you killed another cop."

Family members and colleagues reportedly suggested the plaintiffs used seized funds to finance property renovations, vehicle and vessel purchases, and private schooling for their children. The Mayor of Hialeah has also publicly criticised the film's portrayal of the city and its law-enforcement personnel.

The plaintiffs allege they have suffered reputational, professional, and economic harm, as well as emotional distress. They further allege the film has impaired their ability to pursue documentary or media projects based on the true events of the 2016 investigation.

Demands for retraction and legal proceedings

On or about 23 December 2025, Smith through legal counsel sent the defendants a demand letter calling for the film not to be released and for evidence connected to its production to be preserved.

The defendants proceeded to release the film regardless and responded on or about 20 January 2026, stating the plaintiffs' concerns were unfounded because the film did not identify Smith by name and contained no implication of misconduct.

On or about 5 March 2026, both plaintiffs issued a second formal demand. They called for a public retraction, a prominent disclaimer to be added to the film and promotional materials, cessation of distribution pending corrective measures, and monetary compensation.

The defendants refused, pointing to the end-credit disclaimer as sufficient. The plaintiffs contend this disclaimer is inadequate given the prominence of the "inspired by true events" declaration at the film's outset.

The complaint brings three counts: defamation per se, defamation by implication, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiffs allege the defendants acted with actual malice in proceeding with the film's marketing as a true-events narrative.

The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and costs. The case, assigned number 1:26-cv-23213-CMA, is before the Southern District of Florida. The plaintiffs are represented by Ignacio Alvarez and Gavin Sinclair of ALGO Law Firm, LLP, Coral Gables, Florida.

Artists Equity declined to comment. The Rip currently holds a 78 per cent approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.