A man who for years moved through Manhattan’s moneyed social scene while claiming ties to the Rothschild family is now facing serious charges in Miami Beach. Police arrested the man, identified in court papers as Aryeh Dodelson, on February 25 at a South Beach hotel. He was later booked in Miami-Dade County on felony and misdemeanor domestic-violence counts.
The alleged victim told authorities the attack happened December 29 inside the couple’s South of Fifth apartment and that she briefly lost consciousness.
Allegations and arrest
According to Vanity Fair, Miami Beach detectives obtained an arrest warrant and intercepted Dodelson at 1 Hotel South Beach on the night of February 25. The outlet reports that the arrest affidavit states the woman told officers he grabbed her from behind, pulled her hair, punched her and put both hands on her neck, which she says caused her to lose consciousness. In her account to police: “He choked me.”
Authorities charged Dodelson on February 26 with battery by strangulation, a felony, and battery by domestic violence, a misdemeanor, according to the reporting.
A long con from Manhattan to SoFi
Before his name appeared in a Miami Beach arrest report, the man circulated in downtown Manhattan using aliases, including Kyle Deschanel, and cultivated a high-flying persona that reportedly involved fake business cards, pitch decks and big-ticket dinners. The Daily Beast and other outlets have detailed how that carefully crafted identity threaded through New York nightlife between 2021 and 2023.
Court date and defense
According to Vanity Fair, Dodelson filed paperwork in January to change his name to Ary Davidssen, has entered a not-guilty plea and is requesting a jury trial. He has hired Miami attorneys Phil Reizenstein, Kenneth Weisman and Jay White. Reizenstein told a reporter that “almost all of your questions are covered by attorney client privilege so i can’t answer them.”
An arraignment is scheduled for April 27 at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, according to the same reporting.
Legal implications
Under Florida law, domestic battery by strangulation is a felony offense under Florida Statute §784.041 and can carry a sentence of up to five years in prison, along with fines, according to the state code. The statute also allows for mandatory intervention programs and other collateral consequences in domestic-violence cases.
To prove the strangulation enhancement, prosecutors must show the defendant knowingly and intentionally impeded the victim’s normal breathing or blood circulation.
SoFi backdrop and what’s next
The Portofino Tower apartment where the alleged assault occurred had appeared in rental listings for about $25,000 a month, a Compass rental page shows, placing the case squarely in Miami Beach’s high-end real estate world.
With the arraignment approaching on April 27, additional details are expected to surface through court filings and any official statements from prosecutors or police. This story will be updated as more records become public.
