John Paulson claims that his accomplice Fahad Ghaffar used his cash for the luxurious life

Billionaire John Paulson, locked in a bitter divorce together with his estranged spouse, has a brand new authorized battle on his arms: He is suing a former enterprise accomplice for defrauding him out of almost $200 million.

Paulson is a hedge fund supervisor well-known for shorting the housing market in 2007. Extra lately, he has been a fixture within the gossip pages for his ugly break up from his spouse and his romance with a a lot youthful dietitian.

In a federal criticism, Paulson alleges that Fahad Ghaffar, a Puerto Rico-based enterprise affiliate, used “criminality, misleading machinations and misleading self-dealing” to complement himself and his kin at Paulson’s expense.

The lawsuit alleges that Ghaffar repeatedly charged Paulson’s firm private bills as enterprise bills, equivalent to a $20,000 night time of clubbing in 2022. Paulson claims Ghaffar additionally charged his corporations $8,000 for an evening at New York’s Marquee nightclub in 2019. And $4000 for one night time. A meal at Carbone in Miami in 2022. The lawsuit alleges he paid $3.4 million in private bills to his employer.

“For years, he and his co-conspirators siphoned worth from the Paulson entities at each flip, betrayed Paulson’s belief and killed the hand that fed them,” the lawsuit stated. “(His greed) botched the enterprise selections he was purported to make for Paulson, betraying the belief Paulson positioned in him with stunning ease.”

Monday’s submitting comes six weeks after Ghaffar sued Paulson for defrauding him out of a 50 p.c stake in his luxurious automobile dealership. Ghaffar’s lawyer, Martin Russo, known as Paulson’s criticism a “publicity stunt.”

“The truth that Paulson leads Civil RICO signifies the weak point of his claims and his lack of ability to show any precise misconduct,” Russo stated in an announcement. “We look ahead to resolving their lawsuit and vindicating Mr. Ghaffar and his household.”

Either side have employed public relations corporations to symbolize their attorneys within the authorized battle. Tuesday, He received Puerto Rican journalists The bankers’ packing containers contained popcorn, champagne, and a replica of Paulson’s criticism.

Relations between the 2 males are stated to be so tense that Paulson banned Ghaffar from staying at his luxurious resorts in Puerto Rico, after a video surfaced of Ghaffar breaking glasses and a chair at Paulson’s La Concha resort. “Such reprehensible habits, as demonstrated by Fahd, won’t be tolerated by anybody on our property,” Paulson wrote in a memo to staff final month, in keeping with the British Each day Mail. Page six.

A spokesman for Russo instructed The Each day Beast that Paulson had identified concerning the video because it was taken in 2019. He added: “He thought it was nothing on the time after which he grabbed it and used it towards (Ghaffar) solely now as a result of they’re in a lawsuit.” Judicial.”

Ghaffar started working at Paulson’s hedge fund, Paulson & Co. Inc., as a junior analyst in 2013, in keeping with the lawsuit. When Paulson expanded his resort and actual property operations to Puerto Rico, Ghaffar moved to the island to assist run the enterprise. In keeping with the go well with, he rapidly gained Paulson’s belief and ultimately turned a supervisor for all of Paulson’s investments in Puerto Rico, together with La Concha, the Condado Vanderbilt Lodge, and the St. Regis Bahia Seaside Resort.

Alongside the best way, Ghaffar met his spouse, Glenda, who Paulson says conspired with Ghaffar to complement themselves, her father, and his siblings.

Apart from the fraudulent character prices, the go well with alleges that Ghaffar entered Polson Lodges into offers with shell corporations arrange by members of his household, together with an organization run by his spouse that allegedly bought 55 p.c furnishings to the resorts and an analogous firm owned by her. By his sister who bought specialty rugs, paintings and LED lights. He’s additionally accused of loaning family and friends members luxurious automobiles from Polson’s rental firm and giving them weeks of free lodging at Polson resorts.

Paulson alleges that Ghaffar’s charity, the F&G Household Basis, was additionally a rip-off. In keeping with the go well with, the muse was by no means legally established and as a substitute served as a car for Ghaffar’s private bills, together with a $360,732 down fee for a good friend’s residence and $100,000 for his father-in-law’s dwelling purchases.

Ghaffar asserts that Paulson is the fraud. Within the lawsuit he filed in September, he claimed that the billionaire satisfied him to speculate $17 million in his luxurious automobile firm in alternate for a promised 50 p.c stake, however failed to supply correct documentation for the settlement and abruptly fired him from all positions within the firm in August – shortly after . After Paulson stated he found Ghaffar’s fraud, he fired him from the resort enterprise.

In a movement to dismiss filed final month, Paulson known as the lawsuit “fully with out advantage” and claimed that Ghaffar filed it solely to distract consideration from the fraud he uncovered.

“There was no fraud, deceit, misconduct or misrepresentation on Paulson’s half,” Paulson’s attorneys instructed The Each day Beast in an announcement. “If Ghaffar’s criticism isn’t withdrawn instantly, his silly refusal might be met with our proposal for sanctions.”

The authorized hit has prolonged to Paulson’s high-profile divorce proceedings, which started in 2021 when he filed for divorce from Jennika Paulson and took up with 35-year-old Instagram influencer Alina de Almeida.

Jenica Paulson has filed a lawsuit towards her ex-husband, claiming that he was hiding cash from her in trusts that have been ostensibly arrange for his or her kids, however have been really set as much as defend his belongings. The events have been scheduled to listen to Paulson’s movement to dismiss in September, however Ghaffar’s criticism prompted Jenica to take a look at her estranged husband’s dealings in Puerto Rico extra comprehensively, her attorneys stated. Bloomberg.

On the day of the listening to, she filed an up to date criticism alleging that Paulson bought a apartment on the St. Regis Bahia Seaside Resort owned by the household belief at an artificially low worth, successfully bilking the belief out of about $10 million. John Paulson’s lawyer instructed Bloomberg that the residence “was not a phony buy” and that his shopper paid the complete record worth. The listening to on the dismissal request was postponed to December.