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  • 2019-06-19 Brewer News Release

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    Joanna England
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    Megatel Homes, a top homebuilder in Dallas-Fort Worth, filed a lawsuit against its former joint venture partners United Development Funding and Centurion American Development Group, alleging conspiracy and betrayal. Megatel claims the partners conspired to cut Megatel out of partnership projects worth over $100 million in order to sell land to other homebuilders for quick cash and pay off debts. The lawsuit alleges the partners pressured Megatel into terminating contracts so Centurion and UDF could liquidate projects and protect their own interests while starving for cash. Megatel is seeking over $100 million in damages from its former partners.

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    News Release on Megatel Suit

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    Megatel Homes, a top homebuilder in Dallas-Fort Worth, filed a lawsuit against its former joint venture partners United Development Funding and Centurion American Development Group, alleging conspiracy and betrayal. Megatel claims the partners conspired to cut Megatel out of partnership projects worth over $100 million in order to sell land to other homebuilders for quick cash and pay off debts. The lawsuit alleges the partners pressured Megatel into terminating contracts so Centurion and UDF could liquidate projects and protect their own interests while starving for cash. Megatel is seeking over $100 million in damages from its former partners.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    5K views2 pages

    2019-06-19 Brewer News Release

    Uploaded by

    Joanna England
    Megatel Homes, a top homebuilder in Dallas-Fort Worth, filed a lawsuit against its former joint venture partners United Development Funding and Centurion American Development Group, alleging conspiracy and betrayal. Megatel claims the partners conspired to cut Megatel out of partnership projects worth over $100 million in order to sell land to other homebuilders for quick cash and pay off debts. The lawsuit alleges the partners pressured Megatel into terminating contracts so Centurion and UDF could liquidate projects and protect their own interests while starving for cash. Megatel is seeking over $100 million in damages from its former partners.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 2

    BREWER

    ATTORNEYS & COUNSELORS

    NEWS
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    United Development Funding, Centurion American Development


    Group and Affiliates Face Lawsuit and Conspiracy Allegations

    Dallas, TX… June 19, 2019 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors announced the filing of a lawsuit on
    behalf of its client, Megatel Homes, against United Development Funding (“UDF”) and Centurion
    American Development Group (“Centurion”).

    Filed in Dallas County District Court on June 18, 2019, the lawsuit alleges that both of Megatel’s joint
    venture partners, UDF and Centurion, conspired to take advantage of Megatel. Defendants allegedly
    misappropriated in excess of $100 million in value from Megatel over dozens of transactions.

    The lawsuit alleges breach of fiduciary duties, breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing, and
    conspiracy to tortiously interfere with a contract, among other claims. Megatel seeks more than $100
    million in damages.

    Megatel was founded by brothers Zach and Aaron Ipour, who started out in Texas buying and flipping
    foreclosure properties. Under the Megatel name, the two eventually expanded the business into a top-ten
    homebuilder in Dallas-Fort Worth.

    “As alleged in the petition, Megatel became a leader in the Dallas real estate market – only to allegedly
    face betrayal at the hands of two key joint venture partners,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at
    Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and counsel for Megatel. “As alleged in the petition, our client believes
    that defendants conspired against their company to unfairly remove it from significant projects and to
    gain financial benefits to which defendants were not entitled.”

    Centurion is a land development company founded by Mehrdad Moayedi. Megatel and Centurion began
    working together in 2011. UDF provides financing for residential communities, and historically was the
    lender from which Centurion and affiliates borrowed funds to buy and develop land.

    According to the petition, in exchange for the introduction to UDF, Megatel agreed to pay Moayedi a
    $2,000 “consulting fee” for every home Megatel sold, resulting in Megatel ultimately paying Moayedi
    approximately $1.6 million in such fees. In addition, Centurion and Megatel entered into an arrangement
    where Megatel would have the first opportunity to participate in Centurion developments for which UDF
    provided financing, the complaint says. Then in 2012, UDF introduced Megatel to another land
    development company like Centurion, Buffington Land Group, according to plaintiffs.

    According to the petition, Centurion developed finished lots, then Megatel built homes on the lots – with
    funding from UDF. Relying upon the trust the parties placed in each other, business was often conducted
    with a handshake rather than with formal legal documents, according to the complaint. However,
    unbeknownst to Megatel, partners UDF and Centurion were secretly “starved for cash” and scheming to
    protect their own self-interests, according to the lawsuit.
    The petition alleges, “Centurion and UDF conspired to cut Megatel out of partnership projects so that
    Centurion could liquidate them and thereby pay its substantial debts to UDF.”

    The petition alleges that by 2018, Megatel became aware that it had been the “target of a conspiracy” by
    UDF and Centurion to cut it out of the partnership and that by then, Megatel had also lost millions of
    dollars.

    The lawsuit alleges that Centurion and UDF pressured Megatel to release lots that Megatel had a
    contractual right to purchase, so that Centurion could free up the lots “to sell for quick cash to other
    homebuilders who were willing to close on unfinished lots.”

    In one case, in the Shahan Prairie development of homes, the complaint alleges that Centurion
    communicated that UDF wanted Centurion to terminate its contract with Megatel so that Centurion could
    sell undeveloped land to D.R. Horton – Megatel’s competitor – “rather than develop that land and sell lots
    to Megatel as required under their agreement.”

    The petition alleges that Centurion sent a notice of cancellation in March 2016, to Megatel that was
    “fraudulently backdated” as being dated June 3, 2014 – and then Centurion turned around and sold the
    land to D.R. Horton. The lawsuit also alleges that UDF demanded that Megatel terminate contracts with
    Buffington on numerous developments so that UDF could sell the land to another homebuilder rather than
    to Megatel.

    The actions of Centurion and UDF allegedly resulted in Megatel contracts being terminated, and the
    builder no longer being able to purchase lots on which to buy and sell homes numerous residential
    developments across Texas.
    ###

    About Megatel Homes

    Founded in 2006 by brothers Aaron and Zach Ipour, Megatel Homes has quickly established itself as a
    premier homebuilder in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. With humble beginnings as a remodeling
    company, the brothers quickly found a way to distinguish themselves. Since then, the Ipours have grown
    Megatel Homes to be one of the largest new home construction companies in DFW. Visit Megatel Homes
    at www.megatelhomes.com.

    About Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors

    Founded in 1984, Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, has earned a reputation as one of the most successful
    law firms in the United States practicing exclusively in the field of complex commercial litigation and
    dispute resolution. With offices in New York and Dallas, Texas, the firm represents a wide spectrum of
    industry leaders – from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 corporations – facing the most challenging of legal
    issues. Visit Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, at www.brewerattorneys.com.

    For more information contact:


    Katherine Leal Unmuth
    Manager of Public Affairs
    [email protected]
    214-653-4832

    4824-6175-3751.3
    2283-02

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