Mohamed Hadid’s former security guard says developer fudged finances to avoid legal judgement

It seemed developer Mohamed Hadid’s legal troubles were over last month when he was sentenced to community service and ordered to pay a $17,000 fine for skirting city rules during the construction of his Strada Vecchia manse.

But the real estate mogul is now facing a legal battle on a new front.

His former security guard and driver Juan Carlos Gonzalez filed suit this week in U.S. District Court, accusing Hadid and his assistant of making wire transfers out of the company account from which he used to pay Gonzalez in order to avoid paying the guard $576,000 in back pay and legal costs related to a 2014 judgement, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Gonzalez also claims that Hadid made false tax filings and failed to withhold payroll taxes for his employees.

Gonzalez was not paid for overtime work during his five years working for Hadid, a judge ruled in the 2014 case. He quit or was fired after police caught him driving one of Hadid’s cars without a valid license.

Hadid declined to comment on the Times’ story. [LAT]— Katherine Clarke