John Paulson sued his former Puerto Rico business partner, accusing him and several members of his family of siphoning millions of dollars from the hedge fund billionaire to finance a luxury lifestyle.
Fahad Ghaffar fraudulently billed to Paulson entities $3.4 million in personal expenses, including $147,000 in Louis Vuitton and Chanel shopping sprees, more than $600,000 in private jet travel and $20,000 for a single night of partying at Las Vegas’s Omnia night club, Paulson said in a suit filed Monday in federal court in Puerto Rico. Ghaffar also allegedly steered millions of dollars in Paulson business to firms owned by relatives, who overcharged for their services.
“Though Fahad touted himself a loyal member of the Paulson team and a philanthropist, nothing could be further from the truth,” Paulson said in his suit, which alleges racketeering and fraud, among other claims. “For years he and his co-conspirators siphoned off value from the Paulson entities at every turn, betraying Paulson’s trust and biting the hand that had fed them.”
Paulson is suing Ghaffar under the civil version of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a law that was created to target organized crime, as well as fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, among other claims. He is seeking around $190 million in damages. G
