$1.34B Settlement Awarded in SoCal Property Fraud Case
It’s said to be one of the largest fraud-based arbitration awards involving Southern California commercial real estate
By Greg Cornfield June 9, 2026 5:55 pm
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After almost three years of proceedings, a Southern California real estate investor has secured what’s said to be one of the largest such fraud-based arbitration awards.
A Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services arbitrator awarded Laguna Beach businessman Mohammad Honarkar and his company 4G Wireless the $1.34 billion arbitration award following the collapse of his firm’s commercial real estate portfolio, according to Halpern May Ybarra Gelberg, the law firm that represented Honarkar.
The respondents, Mahender Makhijani and Continuum Analytics, were found liable for fraud, breach of contract, forcible entry and detainer related to the joint venture that took control of numerous commercial properties previously owned by Honarkar and 4G Wireless. The settlement included punitive damages.
Makhijani and representatives for the respondents did not immediately return requests for comment.
The arbitration found that about five years ago the respondents fraudulently induced Honarkar into forming the joint venture in 2021 when he was facing financial pressure from the pandemic and a looming maturity for a $195 million loan. The JV would own and operate Honarkar’s Southern California commercial real estate portfolio in exchange for a promised $30 million equity contribution and refinancing support.
However, the respondents allegedly used financing secured by those properties to fund portions of the transaction and thereafter incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in encumbrances and loan obligations. The $30 million capital contribution was not made, and many of the properties tied to the joint venture later fell into foreclosure or receivership.
“For years, my reputation, my business and properties I spent decades building were ruined by those I thought I could trust,” Honarkar said in a statement. “This case was never just about financial loss. It was about finally being vindicated.”
Aaron May, Joseph Ybarra, Thomas Rubinsky and Abigail Marion of Halpern May Ybarra Gelberg represented Honarkar.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
