Miami Heat players fall victim to real-estate scam
By Brian Spaen
Miami Heat players could be victims of a real-estate scam set up by a man that originally lived in Ohio.
The criminal is Haider Zafar, who later moved to Florida. According to an Associated Press report, the “multimillion-dollar real-estate fraud” started as early as 2008.
"[Zafar’s] 135-count indictment describes a scheme it says he used to swindle Washington, D.C., businessman Patwinder Sidhu out of $10 million between 2008 and 2010.Zafar pleaded not guilty last month to all charges. His attorney, Samuel Shamansky, on Friday said they will continue to challenge the accusations.A criminal complaint says Zafar, a Pakistan native and U.S. legal resident, used questionable documents to solicit the funds from Sidhu for real-estate ventures in Pakistan."
None of the Heat players have been officially revealed, but the witness that testified against Zafar mentioned Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis, and James Jones. The team released a statement and remain “in ‘constant contact’ with the authorities handling the investigation.”
Some of the items that Zafar bought with his additional income include a Rolls-Royce convertible, “diamonds and watches, among other items.”
Coming from Ohio, it probably wouldn’t be that hard to link Zafar to screwing over some Heat players because of LeBron James.