Developer Ben Shaoul Sued by Own Parents for $50 Million

Developer/80s breakdance movie villain, Ben "The Sledgehammer" Shaoul is well known for his hated developments in the East Village/LES. But when he isn't tearing down nursing homes and shrieking with maniacal laughter, he's also getting into ugly legal entanglements with his own parents.

According to The Real Deal, Shaoul's parents and Magnum Real Estate Group co-founders Abraham and Minoo Shaoul are suing their son for fraud, accusing him of using Magnum as his "own personal piggy bank" and taking payouts from the company's purchased buildings without their permission. They are demanding almost $50 million in damages.

The long list of allegations was initially filed last year. On February 12, his parents requested permission to file an updated complaint, which includes accusations that Shaoul swindled his parents out of money owed to them, amending a Noho building's operating agreement to nullify his mother's interest in the property. He also allegedly failed to notify his parents of a credit loan that he applied for on a building on the Lower East Side back in 2006, receiving a direct reimbursement of $1.25 million that he kept for himself. His parents claim that in 2013, he applied for another loan on a family property on Ludlow Street and received $2 million, which he deposited directly into his personal bank account without informing them.

"The people he is stealing from are his own parents—the same parents who worked hard all their lives and saved their money, the same parents that bailed him out of jail, took him back into their home when he dropped out of school, the same parents who paid for him to learn the real estate business and the same parents who provided the millions in seed money to begin the family real estate business," the complaint states.

Shaoul has denied all of his parents' accusations, claiming that "this is a family matter that has nothing to do with any business dealings—rather, the deterioration of my relationship with my mother."
· "Ben Shaoul's parents sue developer for fraud, theft" [TRD]
· All Ben Shaoul coverage [Curbed]