Judge rules that Santa Monica developer Neil Shekhter forged documents, destroyed evidence in JV dispute

Santa Monica developer Neil Shekhter forged documents, destroyed evidence, and committed perjury in a joint venture dispute related to the development of nine apartment properties on the Westside, a judge has ruled.

A suit brought by Shekhter against his business partner, Boston-based AEW Capital Management, has now been dismissed and the developer will have to pay the Boston company’s attorneys’ fees and costs related to the suit, the Los Angeles Business Journal reported.

In the 2014 suit, Shekhter alleged that AEW owed him $720 million for violating the terms of their joint venture agreement to build the properties. He claimed that the plaintiffs negotiated a 2010 joint venture deal with AEW on the condition they could buy out the hedge fund after a few years, but that AEW refused to abide by those terms.

Sheckhter’s attorney, Skip Miller of Miller Barondess, said he believed the ruling would be overturned on appeal. [LABJ] — Katherine Clarke