Victims Vinay and Nimisha Patel entered into a Real Estate contract on or about September 2007 for the purchase of a commercial building in Daytona Beach, FL through their realtor, defendant Arif Zaheer. The contract was for an initial purchase price of $1,750,000.00. An initial $50,000.00 deposit was provided by The Patels and subsequently an additional $387,500.00 was provided to Remax Vista and or Vista Horizons (defendant Zaheer’s real estate office).
After numerous contract extensions, the sale did not go through and on or about August 2008, The Patels signed a release and cancellation of contract to obtain their escrow money back. After not receiving a response from defendant Zaheer, The Patels contacted the seller’s realtor and were advised that the property in question had already sold.
Defendant Zaheer requested to pay back the monies in monthly increments to which the Patels said no. Defendant Zaheer wired $20,150.00 to the Patels and provided them with several checks to pay for the balance. Defendant Zaheer’s account did not have enough funds to cover the said checks, thus depriving The Patels of a total of: $392,350.00.
Mr. Zaheer was arrested today at approximately 9:00 AM. He is currently being interviewed by an economics detective and will shortly be transported to the Bookings and Receiving Center.
