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The Dispatch wrote
Restaurant owner accused of mortgage scam
Monday, February 18, 2008
BY DANA WILSON
Powell police officers arrested Gihan “Gigi” Zalat, 40, of Columbus, on Friday at the Happy Greek restaurant at 1552 N. High Street, which she co-owns with her husband. Zalat is charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and is being held in the Delaware County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.
The Dispatch first reported on Zalat and her husband, Mohamed Hassan, in February 2007 when authorities searched the Happy Greek in the Short North, which the couple has since sold. They now own the Happy Greek in the Campus Gateway.
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Sounds like someone needs to buy a few 1 way plane tickets.
The story definitely gets deeper than just some mortgage scams, “Seized were computers, mortgage files, counterfeit cash, phony immigration documents and fake driver’s licenses” :shock:
Yeah, should be interesting to see how this unfolds… there’s a whole lot more to it all than the reporter felt confident to expand on.
For those interested in reviving urban neighborhoods there is a bigger issue too. I own a home right next to one of the properties they “owned” in merion village. As any property owner would, I checked the ownership and sales info on the property and was shocked to see it mortgaged for nearly 2 times its appraised value.
The house has now been vacant for almost two years. I had to have the city shut the water off when the pipes burst last winter and its a block from Parsons so vandals are having a great time with it.
Its a shame because its a great house, but now that its locked up in this whole mortgage fraud issue, who knows how long its going to be a vacant public nuisance.
do you think her defense will be “its all greek to me!”? ill be here all week.
Lock them up and throw away the key. I have heard from 2 sources that they have not made 1 rent payment at Campus Gateway either.
*Massive sense of Gyro-Regret* opa :cry:
This calls for a poorly constructed Haiku…
Dip Sampler of Joy
Evil Proprietors Jailed
Check Please
This is just the tip of the iceberg on mortgage fraud. We here on the Southside have been watching houses sell for 2-3 times their value for some time now, and I’m sure it is going on in the upscale areas as well. The only positive thing that has come out of it for us here in Hungarian Village is an investor who lives in the neighborhood (Josh Martin) picked up several of the homes after foreclosure and has rehabbed them and put in great tenants. But that was after the fraud had run it’s course and the real losers are all of us because in the long run the theft by deception that was perpetrated will ruin mortgage companies, making getting a legitimate loan harder to get and has cost the city lost property taxes. No one is watching the store as far as this stuff goes. We tried to report this activity 2 years ago and no one would listen or care. Glad to see that they are busting some of the criminals, but as I said, this is just the begining.
these people live next door to my parents, what me to go ask them about it? :D
Do the people who now own the Short North location have any affiliation with them? Does anyone know?
Sam is great criminal attorney, i would say the best in central ohio. 18 months maybe 2 years of jail time. then deportation. im sure he will have most of the small charges droped in light of a plea deal. theres fed charges here im sure, not sure how that would play out, but i think sam is a federal bar attorney aswell.
Biggest problem if it goes Federal…unless Sam goes to trial and wins, there isn’t really squat that can be done. It goes to sentencing guidelines, and with some of those charges…probably lengthy ones :shock:
shes cooked im sure…
OPA!!
The Short North Happy Greek
660 North High Street at Russell – 614-463-1111
theyve been in there for a while havent they? how could they have not made one payment and not been evicted already?
theyve been in there for a while havent they? how could they have not made one payment and not been evicted already?
They probably don’t have another tenant lined up who wants to pay to be there.
In other news, prior to that article I didn’t know ownership had changed hands on the Short North location. I won’t get into details, but Muhammad and Gigi tried to scam my business when we were trying to find a location and wasted our valuable time and money. I hadn’t eaten there since, even though I like it. But I was never aware of the change of ownership. As for them . . . good riddance.
In related news…
The gyros at the new place next to La Fogata in Pickerington are mediocre.
The gyros at SN Happy Greek are awesome!
But my favorite in Columbus is King Gyro on Hamilton Road in Whitehall.
OPA!!
In other news, prior to that article I didn’t know ownership had changed hands on the Short North location. I won’t get into details, but Muhammad and Gigi tried to scam my business when we were trying to find a location and wasted our valuable time and money. I hadn’t eaten there since, even though I like it. But I was never aware of the change of ownership. As for them . . . good riddance.
Same thing happened with my business. They wrote me 5 bad checks. Finally was able to get paid but it took about a year. Thank GOD they don’t owe me anything now! And yes, the reason they have not been evicted from Gateway is that another tenant not lined up, so if the empty restaurant just sits there it shows weakness in the development. Plus if some reason they were able to start paying now, at least the developer could recoup some losses.
IMHO, there’s a huge difference in food quality between the SN and Gateway restaurants…. the Gateway does not even compare! It makes a lot more sense now.