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A Lake Worth landscaper, Michael Galvan, said in
court records that he showed up at Qureshi's Wellington estate Feb.
12, 1997, to demand that Qureshi make good on a $28,582 landscaping bill.
Galvan said he was met by one of Qureshi's
relatives and another man identified only as ``Doug.'' In kicking
Galvan off the property, the two men beat him as Qureshi stood by and
watched, Galvan said in court records.
His suit, filed in November 1997 and settled in
October, said ``Doug' ' had threatened ``to put two bullets in the
back of Galvan's head.' '
Qureshi filed a response denying Galvan was
mistreated and saying he had paid Galvan in full. The response
accused Galvan of threatening to break Qureshi's legs and of
conducting a harassment campaign ``by denigrating him (Qureshi) in
public throughout the town of Wellington and at Palm Beach Polo.''
None of the Qureshis have been charged in criminal
court in Palm Beach County in connection with the accusations made in
civil lawsuits.
But West Palm Beach police say they investigated
Shimmy Qureshi for fraud in 1992, the same year he moved to the
United States.
The case was based on claims in a civil suit that
Qureshi and three other men had bilked three Chinese immigrants out
of $300,000.
The immigrants - Anthony Lee, Susanna Law and Jack
Tung - said Qureshi conned them out of the money after persuading
them to relocate from Sweden to South Florida to open a restaurant
with him.
Two months after the suit was filed, Lee received a
death threat in the mail, but the threat never led to criminal charges.
And Sgt. Mike Roggin said his fraud investigation
ended when the immigrants agreed to settle with Qureshi and the
others. Exact terms were not disclosed.
But as part of the resolution, the attorney for the
immigrants wrote a letter saying Qureshi had settled their claim ``in
an honorable fashion.''
``Mr. Qureshi can sincerely state to his credit
that he always acknowledged the existence of the full debt claimed by
Lee, Law and Tung,'' attorney Frank Shooster wrote. ``Mr. Qureshi
always conducted himself as a complete gentleman.''
Kazmi said he has a very different recollection.
``I have no money coming in,'' Kazmi told
attorneys. ``I'm losing my house, losing my sanity. I'm bankrupt.
It's all because of Mr. Qureshi.''
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Cases against Qureshi
At least 17 lawsuits and a bankruptcy action have
been filed in Palm Beach County against Sheikh Abdus Shimveel
Qureshi. Here are summaries of four cases:
Suit filed by Peter Ulrich of Sweden
Filed: June 8, 1998
Summary: Ulrich says Qureshi and his investment
company, Escue Management Inc., defaulted on six promissory notes
worth $350,000 and that Qureshi bounced a check for $20,000.
Status: Settled for undisclosed terms.
Bankruptcy case related to liquidation of First
Cayman Bank Ltd.
Filed: May 29, 1998
Summary: Action accuses Qureshi and his associate,
Syed Kazmi, of improperly transferring more than $5 million from the
Cayman Islands bank to their own accounts after Qureshi agreed to
purchase the bank' s parent, Gulf Union Bank, in May 1997.
Status: Awaiting trial.
Suit filed by George and Frayda Lindemann of Palm Beach
Filed: April 10, 1998
Summary: Qureshi offered the Lindemanns 42 horses
in January last year as collateral on his pledge to complete the
purchase of the Lindemann' s home in Wellington. The Lindemanns say
they later learned 10 horses were missing and that others had been
sold or traded or belonged to other people. Suit says polo players
Sebastion and Pite Merlos claimed to own some of the horses because
Qureshi owed them money.
Status: Court records say the suit is proceeding,
but Qureshi's lawyer said this week that it's being settled.
Suit filed by Hans Berglund of Sweden
Filed: April 9, 1997
Summary: Suit says Qureshi defaulted on promissory
notes worth $1.5 million and bounced two checks, one for $915,348 and
one for $544,142.
Status: Final judgment for Berglund for $1.14 million.
Suit filed by Chinese immigrants Anthony Lee,
Susanna Law and Jack Tung
Filed: October 1992
Summary: Suit said Qureshi and three other men
conned the immigrants out of more than $300,000 in connection with a
deal to open a restaurant.
Status: Settled for undisclosed terms.
Sources: Palm Beach County Circuit Court and
U.S. Bankruptcy Court records, interviews.
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