Miami-Dade Sergeants Sue Over The Rip Defamation

Two Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office sergeants filed a federal defamation lawsuit this month in Miami against Artists Equity, the production company founded by actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, alleging that their Netflix film "The Rip" falsely depicts them as corrupt officers by incorporating too many details from a real 2016 narcotics bust they led.

Jason Smith, who supervised the investigation, and Jonathan Santana, the lead detective, claim the movie mirrors their June 29, 2016, operation in Miami Lakes, where officers seized $21,970,411 in laundered cash hidden in orange buckets behind a false drywall partition. That forfeiture marked the largest cash seizure in Miami-Dade history. The film, directed by Joe Carnahan and released on Netflix in January 2026, features Damon as Lt. Dane Dumars and Affleck as Detective Sgt. J.D. Byrne, narcotics officers who uncover $20 million in cartel cash amid internal corruption. The lawsuit points to replicated elements, including the orange buckets, hidden wall, seizure amount, Miami-Dade setting and team dynamics, arguing these create a reasonable inference that viewers would link the fictional characters to the plaintiffs.