On the same day, both The Palm Beach Post and The Detroit Free Press took a hold of the Joe Zada Case and put it on their front page of their papers. Wish I could take the credit for that but NHL star, Serge Federov is the reason that this media avalanche is underway.
Oh, and not to mention the $43 million he says Joe stole from him.
Here is the Detroit article for your viewing pleasure.
Fedorov’s money manager leaves trail of unhappy investorsFrancis X. Donnelly / The Detroit NewsJoe Zada lived the high life and let everyone know it. Splitting his time between the posh enclaves of Grosse Pointe Shores and Wellington, Fla., he threw ostentatious parties, drove luxury European sports cars and traveled around the world. Involved in the blue-blood equestrian world of Palm Beach, Fla., he owned a 20,000-square-foot barn with mahogany stalls, white marble floors and imported European chandeliers. Advertisement But something seemed amiss among the baubles and high-finance world of the self-proclaimed venture capitalist, say former friends and associates. One clue emerged Thursday with a lawsuit by former Red Wings superstar Sergei Fedorov, who claims Zada stole $43 million that he was supposed to invest for him. A dozen other lawsuits have been filed against Zada in Michigan and Florida by others making similar claims over the past few years. “His story has changed more times than I care to remember,” said Robert Ross, a Wellington Realtor who sued Zada for $4 million. “I never represented myself as any financial manager or any sort of investor,” Zada said Thursday. “To anyone and to (Fedorov) especially.” Zada called the money he received from Fedorov a “loan” but did not dispute the agreement Fedorov said was made between the pair on March 6 that Zada would repay Fedorov $60 million within 45 days. Among the alleged victims are people who had known Zada for more than a decade and felt they were close friends with him. They said they trusted him after talking with him daily, going to each other’s homes and taking vacations together. After their financial disagreements emerged a few years ago, they began to wonder whether they knew Zada at all. “I don’t know him anymore,” said Ron Davis, a filmmaker from New York City who invested $1.8 million with his onetime close friend. “It’s hard to believe the person I once knew would do this.” ‘He came in too big’So, as Davis wondered, who is Joe Zada? The Lebanese-American burst upon the equestrian world of Wellington a dozen years ago, former friends said. He made a splash, doing everything in a big way. Zada, 51, owned the biggest home at the Polo Country Club, where he spent winters. He built the biggest stable. He tried to buy the best horse. “He came in too big, too grand, too quick,” said Mason Phelps, a Wellington public relations company owner who worked with Zada on charity events. “In our community, people who make such a big splash are not usually who they appear to be.” Zada was generous with his money. He sponsored charity and equestrian events. He liked to take friends on vacations to Las Vegas, New York, the Bahamas and Europe. And the New Year’s Eve parties at his Florida home were legendary. No expense was spared, former friends said. He hired prominent party planners. There were singers, light shows, an oxygen bar, sushi for 500 people. One year, he encased his swimming pool in hard plastic, turning it into a dance floor with partyers dancing over the water, which was lighted from below. Promises too good to be trueIf Zada’s life seemed too good to be true, so, too, seemed the get-rich promises he made. Several years ago, he told friends and associates about a plan where he would buy tankers of oil in Saudi Arabia when the commodity was cheap and then sell it several months later after the price jumped. The price rose just as Zada had predicted but, when it was time for him to pay the investors, no money was forthcoming. Instead, they said, they received a string of excuses. He asked for more time, they said. He then sent a check but asked them not to cash it yet. He sent checks that bounced. He promised wire transfers that never occurred. Davis, the filmmaker, doesn’t believe Zada set out to trick his friends. He thinks his former friend ran into financial trouble. “I don’t want to believe that he planned this 10 years ahead of time,” he said. In Fedorov’s case, he was introduced to Zada in 1998 by a mutual friend who worked at a Porsche dealership in Metro Detroit. The hockey star made a sizable return on his initial investment with Zada, which encouraged him to invest more money. Over the years, Fedorov gave Zada $43 million. He never received any paperwork documenting how the investment fared. When the hockey player asked about the money, Zada lied and used others to deceive the athlete, according to the lawsuit filed in Wayne Circuit Court. In a statement, Zada said, “Sergei has been, and I am hopeful soon will be again, an amazing and necessary presence of friendship in my life. … Due to circumstances beyond my control, there have been delays in repaying obligations to him. However, they are just that, ‘delays.’ Those delays do not change the fact that, one, I am doing everything humanly possible to correct this situation; two, repayment is imminent; and three, I hope to soon permanently repair our relationship. I remain focused on fully resolving this issue.”
Cheers!
RD
Are coupons worth the trouble to save?
