Man Charged In Scam Involving Millions Of Dollars, Heat Tix
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A man who reportedly scammed investors out of millions of dollars, part of which went to premium Miami Heat tickets, has been charged.
Haider Zafar, 36, is facing five counts of wire fraud.
According to the indictment, Zafar would introduce and portray himself as Haider Zafar Haswhani, a member of a wealthy and influential Pakistani family that operated several hotels, including the Marriott Hotel bombed in Islamabad, Pakistan, textile plants and oil businesses. He claimed he lived in a penthouse in The Essex house in New York, but also had residences at The Setai, the Mondrian, and 10 Museum Park, across the street from the American Airlines Arena.
In October of 2012, he approached a Miami Heat sales executive and said he wanted to purchase a premium three-season ticket package, which would cost $1,055,000, along with other items related to the Miami Heat and games played at the American Airlines Arena. He was provided the package in anticipation of later payment.
Shortly thereafter, and using this same identity, Zafar reportedly obtained a loan and millions of dollars from investors wanting to invest in an investment opportunity he proposed to them.
Zafar, according to the indictment, never invested anything, and instead used the money provided for personal expenses and to pay a portion of what was owed for the Miami Heat tickets.
Zafar is presently in jail in Ohio awaiting sentencing on federal fraud charges after he pleaded guilty to running a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud which bilked some Heat players out of millions of dollars.
If convicted in the Miami scam, he faces up to to 20 years in prison on each wire fraud count.
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