Facts

Defendant Kareem A. Jaffer met a man and started to invest money with him, allegedly without asking for any documentation or doing a background check. In 2006, defendant asked plaintiff Tavoussi, his cousin, if plaintiff would like to invest $250,000 in the business; defendant allegedly claimed it had great potential. Weeks after the investment, the business essentially shut down.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff claimed that defendant knew the business was a sham and still lured plaintiff to invest $250,000. Defendant knew or should have known that business was a failure and that there was no chance of the investment being returned to plaintiff.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Defendant contended that this was a legitimate investment that went bad. Defendant claimed to have also lost money.

Settlement Discussions

Plaintiff demanded $100,000.

Result

Jury returned a verdict for plaintiff on fraud and negligent causes of action for $250,000.

Other Information

FILING DATE: May 18, 2009.

Deliberation

three hours

Length

four days