By Sammie Jones-
A gambler has been given an extra 12 years of bankruptcy restrictions after he duped his friend of a £280k property investment by squandering it on gambling.
Shahriar Farrokhzadeh of Roland Way, Hertforshire was ordered bankrupt by the courts in April 2019 with liabilities of just under £4 million, following a petition by one of his creditors.Bankruptcy restrictions are usually lifted after 12 months but due to the seriousness of Shahriar Farrokhzadeh’s actions, the Official Receiver pursued extended restrictions to prevent him causing any further harm to other creditors.
The Secretary of State accepted a bankruptcy restriction undertaking from Shahriar Farrokhzadeh on 19 September 2019. For 12 years, he is restricted from borrowing more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status, or act as a company director without the court’s permission, among other restrictions.
In July 2017, 42 years old Shahriar Farrokhzade, from Barnet, North London, asked an associate to invest £280,000 in a property deal with him. The money was intended to enable Shahriar Farrokhzadeh to buy a property worth £2.3 million at a discounted price before selling it on for a profit.Shahriar Farrokhzadeh promised his friend more than £60,000 profit in return for the investment and that he would be repaid in under two months.
The associate transferred £280,000 and in return, Shahriar Farrokhzadeh signed a promissory note for £343,000, covering the amount invested and projected profit returns, along with promises of being repaid in full by the end of August.
Over the following three months, however, Shahriar Farrokhzadeh continually delayed paying back the investment while informing his associate that the purchase and sale of the property had been completed.
In reality, Shahriar Farrokhzadeh did not purchase the property and instead squandered the £280,000 on gambling and other lifestyle expenses.
Despite the delay of repayment of the investment from his associate, Shahriar Farrokhzadeh tried to elicit additional funds from him saying he had another investment opportunity.
Bankruptcy restrictions are usually lifted after 12 months but due to the seriousness of Shahriar Farrokhzadeh’s actions, the Official Receiver pursued extended restrictions to prevent him causing any further harm to other creditors.
The Secretary of State therefore accepted a bankruptcy restriction undertaking from Shahriar Farrokhzadeh on 19 September 2019. For 12 years, he is restricted from borrowing more than £500 without disclosing his bankrupt status, or act as a company director without the court’s permission, among other restrictions.
Alan Draycott, Deputy Official Receiver, said:
Shahriar Farrokhzadeh secured thousands of pounds from his friend in good faith but frittered it away. In interviews with the Official Receiver, he couldn’t even recall exactly what he had done with all the money.
12 years of bankruptcy restrictions is a significant amount of time and not only severely curtails Shahriar Farrokhzadeh’s activities but protects other creditors from his profligacy.