Mohammad Honarkar, a prominent hotel owner and real estate developer in Laguna Beach, was awarded a record $1.34 billion after a retired arbitrator found that his former financier had “fraudulently induced” him into a joint venture, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In May, retired judge David A. Thompson ruled that financier Mahender Makhijani, Continuum Analytics and other related companies had broken agreements about financing and managing many of Honarkar’s properties, many of which have since fallen into foreclosure or receivership, including the Hotel Laguna, 14 West, and several apartment and commercial buildings in Laguna Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, Redlands and Tustin.
Aaron May of Halpern May Ybarra Gelberg LLP, who represented Honarkar and 4G Wireless, told the LA Times, “The arbitrator found, after a multi-week evidentiary hearing and a thorough review of the record, that the respondents fraudulently induced our clients into a joint venture, encumbered our clients’ own assets to fund the respondents’ supposed capital contribution and then concealed what they had done.”
Honarkar said that although he received the judgment, he is asking the government to help him obtain the documents he needs to have his properties returned.
Makhijani representatives did not respond to a request for comment to the Times.
