Retail Brokers Inc. principals face lawsuits related to investments - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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million in loans from an Oklahoma bank tothe pair’e real estate partnerships. The two men also are defendantzs in three investor lawsuits claiminv they mismanaged investments in their retail realestate endeavors. The developers are trying to settle theinvestod complaints, according to several attorneys familiar with the In 2008, the pair settled a similar investor suit out of Barness and Papakyriakou, principals of Scottsdale-basedc , own shopping centers in Tempe, Gilbert and Glendale. They operate each center unded a separatebusiness partnership.
The pair also are involvecd in a numberof Phoenix-area charitable Barness, for example, is active with local Jewish community causes and helpe d raise money for Arizona Sen. John McCain’ 2008 presidential bid. Papakyriakou also goes by the name Alex The filed its suits in late January in Maricopqa CountySuperior Court, claiming the developers failed to pay back three loane totaling $9.5 million, according to court Mike Manning, Phoenix managing partne r of , the law firm representing the declined to comment on the pending “We cannot comment on the Manning said. RBI and Barness’ charitable foundatiomn did not respond to requestsfor comment.
No officialo response to the lawsuit was filed by the defendantzs bypress time. The investor lawsuits were file in Maricopa County Superior Court against Barnessand Papakyriakou’w real estate businesses. Those three investoer claims may be consolidated under Maricopa Superiort Court Judge John Buttrickl andsettled together, according to legal sourcese who would not go on the record. Barnesse and Papakyriakou’s attorney, Jeffrey Leonard, said he expects the investord lawsuits to beresolved soon. He said the resolutions would be viamutua agreement, but declined to say whether they wouldx involve out-of-court settlements.
Leonard also would not commengt about the resolution or settlementy of the 2008investor lawsuit. Barnesse and Papakyriakou did not comment forthis story. Otherr lawyers familiar with the investoer suits said a settlement is being Robert Mitchell, the investor/plaintiff’s attorney in the 2008 claimk against Barness and Papakyriakou, said he could not “All I can tell you is that the case was he said. The 2008 case claimed Barness and Papakyriakou deceive d investorswith self-deals and misrepresented sale s and financial proceeds.
One of the 2009 in-vestord suits was filed by Phoenixcardiologist Na-than Laufe and four other investors who say Barnes and Papakyriakou raised as much as $400 million in equith investments and loans for theie real estate and shopping center businesses. They claim the defendantsa “wrongfully diverted nearly $50 million to themselves,” accordingb to court documents. The Laufer suit also contends Barness and Papakyriakou improperly used investment money in some dealx between business entities they and that the sales benefited the defendants but not the The suit claims breach of contract and failure to meetfiduciaryu responsibilities.
Plaintiffs in the Laufer case say theyinvestee $1.3 million in Barness-Papakyriakou real estatee endeavors. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the Laufer case woulxnot comment. A second investor filed by the Eugene and Lenore SchupakFamily Trust, claims the trust investesd $10.4 million in Barness- and Papakyriakou-owner shopping centers in Arizona and real estate partnerships. The same suit contendsx anotherfamily entity, Schupao Partners I, invested $953,000 in Castle Yuma Dev Partners, an investmen entity created by the defendants.