An entrepreneur accused of defrauding his wealthy business partner of millions of dollars has won a court battle over a $13 million South Florida home.
Miami federal judge Beth Bloom’s review of Mohammed Alsaloussi’s home at 2051 North Bay Road in South Beach and 775 NE 77th Street in Miami and his Alton Road in South Beach House number 2040 released from pending notice.
The pending lawsuit is official notice of a claim to the properties and is part of a months-long lawsuit against Alsarousi.
In March, Christopher Drummond filed a lawsuit alleging Alsarousi defrauded Drummond of nearly $17.8 million, in part, by getting him to finance various so-called joint ventures, including investing in a Military Supply Corporation and an associated patent. According to Drummond’s complaint, Alsarousi misappropriated some of Drummond’s funds to buy homes in South Beach and Miami, prompting him to have pending claims on those properties.
In 2021, Alsaloussi affiliates bought a four-bedroom home at 2051 North Bay Road for $4.4 million, a three-bedroom home at 2040 Alton Road for $1.6 million, and 775 Northeast 77th Terrace in Miami Bell, records show. The six-bedroom home in the Meade community is on sale for $7 million.
In her order, Bloom sided with Alsarousi and dismissed Drummond’s pending lawsuit over the house, in part because Drummond failed to balance the money he provided to the conglomerate with the real estate. establish contact between.
Drummond “provided no evidence that the funds [Alsaloussi] Funds used to purchase the property can be traced directly to funds provided by Plaintiff to Alsaloussi,” Bloom wrote in the June 12 order.
Alsarousi’s lawyer welcomed the outcome. Terrance and Darren Ovid and Andrew Ergenson said in an emailed statement that the order recognizes “the fact that Drummond has failed to establish a good faith basis to present any facts in support of his speculative allegations.”
Drummond’s attorney, Michael Feldman, said in a statement that Drummond stands by his allegations and “looks forward to pursuing and proving his claims.”
In fact, the pending dispute is part of a larger case about who owes whom money.
According to Drummond’s complaint, the two met at a dinner in Miami Beach in 2018, became friends, and began an alcoholic, partying lifestyle. At one point, Alsarousi suggested they go into business together. In fact, Alsarousi tried to “woo” Drummond and gain his trust, at one point beginning to call him “brother” to show the extent of their friendship, the complaint alleges. To appear wealthy, Alsarousi let Drummond drive Ferraris and Rolls Royces and claimed his family owned the second largest oil refinery in the Middle East.
Arsarousi “used the appearance of status to gain access to high net worth individuals. His modus operandi was similar to that of Anna Sorokin,” Drummond said in the complaint, referring to the Russian-born accused Convicted fraudster, also known as Anna Delvey. In fact, Alsarousi had no clear source of employment or income, Drummond’s lawsuit alleges.
In the alleged scheme, Alsarousi falsely claimed he had assumed half of Drummond’s $5.9 million investment for their joint venture, prompting Drummond to wire the amount to Alsarousi, the indictment said. Sarushi’s personal account.
Alsarousi countered in a signed affidavit that he was “a successful businessman from a respectable family who didn’t need any of Drummond’s money.”
His LinkedIn lists him as chief executive of investment firms Alsaloussi Holdings and Monarchy Capital.
In court documents, Alsarousi argued that his bank accounts showed he had enough money to buy the property, when it was actually Drummond who owed Alsarousi $11.4 million.
“Alsarousi often financed their business ventures, and Drummond often
According to Alsarousi’s court documents, he defaulted on his fair share.
Alsarousi’s attorney claimed in the document that Drummond was heir to the family of Alabama coal producer Drummond Corporation, but Drummond’s attorney did not confirm this.
Some of their joint ventures included joint management of two yachts, Alsarousi claimed. But when Drummond sold one of the boats for more than $5 million, he failed to pay back Alsarousi’s share, according to Alsarousi’s court answer. Drummond admits his debt to Alsarousi. According to a court filing, Drummond wrote in a 2021 exchange that he would “continue to wire” Alsarousi to pay off his debt “before the debt becomes larger.”
The Drummond-Alsarousi dispute continues a growing trend of South Florida real estate lawsuits. For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit in 2021 against a Miami man alleging that he misappropriated funds from a payday loan program to finance his lavish lifestyle, including real estate purchases. According to records, the defendant paid $1.5 million in May 2019 for unit 5101 at the 54-story Epic Residences & Hotel.
