Farzad Darui Complaint

EXHIBIT A

Case 1:10-cv-01035-LMB -JFA Document 1-1 Filed 09/16/10 of 8

VIRGINIA:

FARZAD DARUI,

Plaintiff,

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF FAIRFAX COUNTY..i'J f:;:i:32

THE ISLAMIC CENTER OFWASHINGTON, DC,SERVE: By private process.

and

DR. ABDULLAH M. KHOUJ,in his individual capacity,SERVE: By private process.

Defendants.

2 0 10-8311Civil Action No.

COMPLAINT

Plaintiff FarzadDarui, by counsel, states as follows for his Complaint:

THE PARTIES

1. PlaintiffFarzad Darui, an adult individual, is a citizen ofVirginia and a resident

ofFairfax County.

2. PlaintiffDarui wasthemanager ofthe Islamic CenterofWashington, DC, from

1994 to August 2006.

3. At all relevant times, plaintiffDarui was a Director and the Chief Executive

Officer ofZaal, Inc.

4. Atall relevant times, plaintiffDarui was thePresident of Blue Line Travel, Inc.

5. Defendant Islamic Center ofWashington, DC ("Center"), is a non-stock

corporation organized under the laws of the District ofColumbia.


6. Defendant Dr. Abdullah M. Khouj is an adult individual and a resident ofFairfax

County. He is a citizen of SaudiArabia, working and living in theUnited States from 1984 to

September 2002 pursuant toanA-1 (Diplomatic) visa, and from October 2002 through the

present pursuant to an R (Religious) visa.

7. At all relevant times, Khouj was the Chief Imam andDirector of the Center.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

8. On September 15,2006, The Islamic Center filed a civil complaint against Darui

in the United States District Court for the Eastern District ofVirginia alleging, among other

things, that Darui had unlawfully taken money from theCenter.

9. Khouj and, upon information and belief, a co-conspirator provided the allegations

for the civil complaint.

10. The civil complaint alleged the Islamic Center, the sole plaintiff, tobe the victim

ofDarui's conduct.

11. At issue in the civil suit were checks written from the so-called "Special

Account," which was opened and held inthe name and social security number of "Dr. Abdullah

M. Khouj."

12. All the checks listed in the civil complaint were written on the "Special Account."

13. The civil complaint contained numerous false statements, such as: "Khouj did notauthorize payment[s]" to the two businesses ofDarui; Darui "changed the payee names" on

certain Center checks after "Khouj signed" them; and the Center's accounting firm told Khouj itwas not in possession of "any" of the Center's cancelled checks.

14. Khouj was well aware that, throughout the relevant time period, the Islamic

Center did not own the "Special Account." In fact, the account was Khouj's personal bank


account as it was in his name, under his social security number, and he was the sole signatory.

Khouj wrote checks for certainpersonal expenditures from the account as well as expenses for

the Center.

15. In response to Darui'sMotion to Dismiss the civil suit, Khoujmadedeclarations

under penaltyof perjuryin a six-pageaffidavit, whichcontained numerous false statements. The

affidavit was unwittingly prepared byWilliams &Connolly LLP, the law firm thatfiled thecivil

complaint on behalfof the Center.

16. TheCenter later voluntarily dismissed the civil suit, and the Orderof Dismissal

was signed on December 14, 2006.

17. The termination of the civil suit was not unfavorable to Darui.

18. Khouj falsely told Williams &Connolly LLP and falsely stated inhis affidavit

filed during the civil suit that the un-cashed checks were originally made payable to the Center's

vendors and that Darui subsequently altered these checks bychanging the payee to one ofhis

businesses, Zaal, Inc. or BlueLineTravel, Inc. and thencashed them.

19. Also, as abasis for the civil suit, Khouj falsely told Williams &Connolly LLP

and falsely stated inhis affidavit filed during the civil suit that hehad never seen orheard ofZaal

or BlueLine andhadnever authorized checks to thosebusinesses. However:

a. Khouj personally purchased several plane tickets and at least one money order

from Blue Line Travel from 2001 to2003;

b. Khouj authorized and signed a check from the Islamic Center Administrative

Account (#7866) for $437 to purchase a plane ticket from BlueLineTravel

for a co-conspirator'sbrother;


c. Khouj signed a contractwithDarui that specifically refers to "Zaal." The

contract was regarding repayment to Darui for providing housing, food, and

cash, at Khouj's request, forDebbiEstrada, one ofKhouj's"wives" or

mistresses;

d. When Khouj made his regular visits toEstrada, who was residing atDarui's

apartment building, he passed an entranceway sign that read "Zaal, Inc."

20. Bank ofAmerica provided photocopies of the cashed checks.

21. Documentary evidence of the false allegations is based on photocopies of

documents, including un-cashed checks, provided exclusively by the Royal Embassy ofSaudi

Arabia.

22. Forthemostpart, each photocopy of a cashed checkfrom Bank of America has a

"twin," that is, a photocopy, provided bythe Saudi Embassy, of anun-cashed check with the

same check number, date, and amount to be paid. For most sets of"twins" only the payee is

different, with thecashed check made payable to oneofDarui'sbusinesses and theun-cashed

check made payable to a Center vendor.

23. Some "twin" checks (with the same number, date, and amount) have different

notations in the memo line.

24. There are also some "twin" checks (with the same number, date, and amount)

where neither the payee on the cashed check nor the payee on the un-cashed check bears anyrelationship to Darui or his businesses. These checks were omitted from the civil complaint.

25. In fact, Khouj signed and authorized the cashed checks toDarui's businesses

because he owed Darui for the housing and upkeep oftwo ofhis "wives" or mistresses, Estradaand Noufissa Zouhri.


26. Thecivil suitwasbrought based solely on photocopies; there wasnotoneoriginal

allegedly altered check—moreover, noneof the copied cashed checks shows anysign of

alteration.

27. Themalicious andunwarranted filing of the civil suit generated significant

publicity, including articles in TheWashington Post andTheWashington Times.

28. Thesham lawsuit, theattendant publicity, and additional false statements by

Khouj led directly to the issuance ofsearch warrants for Darui's home and businesses, resulting

in a seizure ofhis property.

29. The sham lawsuit, the attendant publicity, and additional false statements by

Khouj also led directly to the issuance of an arrest warrant for Darui, resulting in arrest of his

person.

30. As a result ofKhouj's false allegations, Darui was removed from his jobas

manager of theIslamic Center, which heheld for over twelve years.

31. The sham lawsuit and the attendant publicity caused additional special injury to

Darui.

COUNT 1: MALICIOUS PROSECUTION

32. The allegations ofparagraphs 1 through 31 are incorporated.

33. The acts set forth above were committed bydefendants.

34. The civil action was seton foot bythe defendants and terminated in amanner not

unfavorable to the plaintiff.

35. The civil action was procured with cooperation of thedefendants.

36. The civil actionwaswithoutprobable cause.

37. The civil action was malicious.


38. Darui suffered special injury, including but not limited to arrest ofhis person and

seizure ofhis property.

39. The defendants' acts proximatelycaused damages to Darui.

WHEREFORE, Farzad Darui requests judgment in his favor and against defendants in

the amount of five million dollars, plus the costs of this proceeding.

COUNT 2: CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MALICIOUS PROSECUTION

40. Theallegations set forth in paragraphs 1through 31 areincorporated.

41. The defendants and others combined, agreed, and engaged in concerted action to

commit the tort ofmalicious prosecution.

42. The defendants therefore combined, agreed, and engaged in concerted action to

accomplish an unlawful purpose.43. The defendants also combined, agreed, and engaged in concerted action to

accomplish their purpose by unlawful means.44 The defendants- acts in furtherance ofthe conspiracy caused damages to Dami.45. Khouj had an independent personal stake in the outcome of the conspiracy due to

1 ~fw,c "wives" ormistresses from certainhisdesiretohidehispaymentstoDaruifortheupkeepofhis wives ormneople in the Saudi Embassy. .

•A^m in his favor and against defendants inWHEREFORE, Farzad Darui requests judgment in histhe amount offivemillion dollars, plus the costs of this proceeding.

nypyrraMAND

PUintiffre^s atrial by jury on a., issue, so triab.*.FARZAD DARUIByCounsel


WEBSTER BOOK LLP

Q4_Steven T. WebJterfVSB No. 31975)Aaron S. Book (VSB No. 43868)300 N. Washington Street, Suite 404Alexandria, Virginia 22314888-987-9991 Phone & [email protected] for Plaintiff


Farzad Darui Complaint

Documents

Transcript of Farzad Darui Complaint