Cash-strapped real estate developer Mohamed Hadid Celebrity Jonathan Hadid, father of supermodels Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid, claims he is the “victim” of unscrupulous lenders after filing for bankruptcy over a prized California property, The Washington Post has learned.
Hadid, who made a cameo appearance on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with her ex-wife Yolanda Hadid, is currently embroiled in a nasty legal battle with real estate mogul Zach Bella, who also appeared on Bravo’s reality show “Million Dollar Listing.”
Their bitter dispute began in 2018 when Bella’s company, Skylark Capital, gave Hadid’s Tree Lane LLC a $31 million loan to develop a four-acre plot of land in an upscale Beverly Hills neighborhood home to Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher and his wife, Mila Kunis.
Last month, Hadid, an outspoken 74-year-old Palestinian born in the Israeli city of Nazareth, Critic of the Jewish state — has forced the property into bankruptcy, the fifth bankruptcy filing in Los Angeles in less than five years to block Vera’s land purchases, he told The Post in an exclusive interview.
“I believe I was a victim and now I have to fight,” Hadid said.
“They gave us enough money to hang ourselves, then they cut off funding.”
Vella, Skylark and their lawyer, Matthew Lewis, did not respond to repeated calls and emails seeking comment.
Bella, who is a real estate developer in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, is not one to shy away from the media. Her 2015 wedding to jewellery designer Michelle Campbell at Ashford Castle in Ireland was a big success. Wedding Style Magazine.
In 2022, he sued Hadid over a pricey lot in Bella Vista Estates at 2451 Summit Ridge Drive, which sits next to a gated home that “boasts spacious living spaces, gourmet kitchens, custom movie theaters, game rooms, wine cellars and other lavish amenities,” according to the real estate company. Ruby Home.
Renderings of the 30,000-square-foot estate provided to The Washington Post show Hadid plans to build a four-story mansion with floor-to-ceiling windows and an infinity pool overlooking a private tennis court. The plans also include a spa, a home theater and an eight-car garage with a car lift.
But six years after Skylark closed its financing deal, the property remains undeveloped, with Hadid enduring several financial setbacks, including a $100 million bid for a Bel Air mansion. Starship Enterprisethat The judge ordered him destroyed. before being completed in 2019.
Vera’s lawsuit accuses Hadid of “outright theft” and “fraud.”
“It was, and remains, extremely important to Ms. Hadid to present herself as a wealthy and successful real estate developer and to be in the public eye,” Skylark argues in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Hadid regularly frequents the popular Beverly Hills restaurant, “sitting in a location that is easily visible to the public and easily photographed, and surrounded by young women similar in age to her daughters.”
Hadid filed for bankruptcy protection on April 26, the same day a court hearing was scheduled to appoint an independent receiver for the Summit Ridge estate.
In legal filings ahead of a May 29 court hearing, Hadid asked the judge to approve a $7.7 million emergency loan from a new lender, 364 Capital LLC, to fund emergency repairs on the property while he vets other lenders to help complete the project.
Hadid argued in her filing that the property will be worth $85 million once fully developed, meaning everyone would benefit from the sale.
A judge has yet to rule on Hadid’s request.
Hadid and Bella’s complicated history began with a meeting they initiated in 2018, Hadid told The Washington Post. At the time, Bella was in desperate need of funding to start an even more expensive Beverly Hills development nearby at 9650 Cedarbrook Drive.
The two discussed the deal while walking the 37-acre estate, which was originally listed for $250 million but was reduced to $68 million last September.
According to renderings, the Cedarbrook estate would include a 78,000-square-foot main house with 19 bedrooms, a home theater that seats 36, a Turkish bath, a wine cellar with tasting room, a hot yoga room, staff quarters, a garage for a car collector and a guest house.
“We met across from a hotel in Beverly Hills. [Vella] “I said, ‘Let’s go to the property,'” Hadid told the Post.
“Bella said, ‘I have a lot of money I want to invest,’ and I said, ‘That’s music to my ears.'”
Shortly after that fateful tour, Bella founded Skylark and entered into two loan agreements with Hadid. Skylark agreed to a $92.7 million loan to Cedarbrook for Treetop Development, also owned by Hadid, and a $31 million loan to Summit Ridge to Tree Lane, according to court records.
But their relationship quickly soured, with Hadid alleging that shortly after the loan closing, Vera approached Kutcher and Kunis with a secret deal to develop the Summit Ridge property.
Bella purchased the adjacent land below Hadid’s property, built another home and then transferred an acre of Summit Ridge land to her own property, Hadid alleged in court documents.
According to court documents, Hadid said Bella led her to believe the one-acre lot was part of a subdivision the two companies would jointly develop and would increase the value of the entire project.
Instead, Bella contacted two neighbors with “certain easements” and offered to “work with the neighbors to take over and develop the land,” Hadid alleged in her lawsuit several years ago.
According to recent court documents, those neighbors were Kutcher and Kunis.
The Washington Post reached out to the couple for comment, but representatives did not respond to calls and emails.
Distressed asset experts said Bera’s alleged moves could be questioned in court.
“The judge may find that odd,” Adam Stein Sapir told The Post.
“This is not typical lender behavior and may sound like a lender with an ulterior motive.”
Hadid said in court documents that she only received $21.4 million of the $31 million loan, with more than $13 million of that going to fees and paying off Hadid’s debts, according to court records.
He alleged in court documents that Skylark’s objective from the beginning was to force him into foreclosure with a “loan purchase scheme” by failing to timely disburse funds to Tree Lane.
“I was too nervous about moving forward with these projects. [and] “I didn’t really ask where he was getting his money from,” Hadid told the Post.
“He was trying to capitalize on my death,” Hadid said of Bella.
The Cedarbrook property is also in decline as excavation work is underway for foundation work. Bella sued Hadid in 2021 for defaulting on Cedarbrook’s mortgage, which resulted in Hadid filing for bankruptcy protection for the property in 2022.
The two sides resolved the legal battle on April 4 to expedite the sale of Cedarbrook, but the bankruptcy proceedings remain pending.
Hadid filed for bankruptcy on another property in 2019 after the Bel Air disaster.
The massive mansion at 901 Strada Vecchia was deemed a “clear and imminent danger” to the homes below it because Hadid had violated building codes.
He claims he won’t fight He was placed on probation for three years..
He also filed for bankruptcy in 2021 for a project near Santa Monica, California.
Experts said five bankruptcies in such a short space of time was difficult to accept under any circumstances.
““Part of a developer’s job is to choose lenders and contractors,” Stein Sapir said. “In this situation, Bella was not a good lender for him, and whether she deceived him or not, Hadid signed the contract.”
Hadid made headlines in April after making a homophobic tirade against pro-Israel Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx).
“You’re worse than a NYC sewer rat. They’re smarter than you. Maybe you could get a job as a bouncer in a gay bar,” Hadid wrote.
He later apologized.
