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Creditors accuse ex-restaurateur of taking millions
By Jana Wagoner
A group of creditors has filed an involuntary petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the name of a former Loudoun restaurant owner they claim owes them more than $41.6 million.
The petition was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court June 20 in reference to Osama M. El-Atari, of Ashburn.
El-Atari, who is in his early 30s, owned several restaurants in Northern Virginia, including the Buffalo Wing Factory in Sterling and Ashburn, and The Original Steakhouse and Sports Theatre in Ashburn.
He is well known around the county for the cars he drives. In a 2007 interview with the Times-Mirror, El-Atari said he owned a Bentley GT, a Ferrari F430, a 2007 Mercedes S65, a Cadillac Escalade and a 2007 Porsche 911 Turbo.
“Cars are my passion,” he told the Times-Mirror.
The creditors who have filed the bankruptcy petition are United Bank of Vienna; BankAnnapolis of Annapolis, Md.; Kevin Korban, of Chevy Chase, Md.; and Northern Trust Bank, of Cleveland, Ohio.
David Tatge, the Washington, D.C., attorney representing the creditors, would not comment on the case.
On June 22, a summons was filed to notify El-Atari that the involuntary bankruptcy petition was filed in his name.
While bankruptcy court documents do not go into detail about the millions the banks claim El-Atari owes them, there is an explanation of the $230,000 Korban claims El-Atari owes him.
Korban says he loaned El-Atari $180,000 March 17, and El-Atari used it to make bridge loans to real estate ventures he had an interest in.
Korban also guaranteed a $100,000 loan made to El-Atari by Robin Gemenier for the same purpose.
To date, Korban says, El-Atari has only paid back $50,000 of what was owed to Gemenier, so Korban is seeking the other $50,000 he guaranteed in that loan along with the $180,000 from the loan he made to El-Atari.
Documents filed in Loudoun County Circuit Court's civil division May 13 provide some insight into United Bank's claim against El-Atari.
In that case, United Bank is seeking $13.8 million.
Court documents show that El-Atari took out a loan from United Bank in December 2007 using three life insurance policies from Lincoln Benefit Life Co. as collateral.
El-Atari provided documentation of the life insurance policies, so United Bank granted the loan; however, according to court records, that documentation proved to be false. According to an insurance fraud investigator from Lincoln Benefit Life Company, two of the policy numbers El-Atari gave United Bank never existed, while one was registered to someone else.
Court documents state that when United Bank confronted El-Atari about the policies in question, he admitted that they were invalid and “promised several times to come to the bank with payment, at least in part, within days,” but never showed up.
When United Bank representatives tried to get in touch with El-Atari again, they were told that he was in London, documents said.
After the case was filed, Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James H. Chamblin ruled that “there is strong evidence of fraudulent conduct” on the part of El-Atari. Chamblin gave United Bank permission to collect money from El-Atari's bank accounts.
But when garnishment summonses were delivered to several banks in Leesburg where El-Atari was believed to hold accounts, all of the accounts had either been closed or had all of the money withdrawn from them, court documents said.
Chamblin also ruled that El-Atari has absconded under Virginia law since he has failed to appear at meetings he agreed to attend with United Bank.
As of the Times-Mirror's deadline, no criminal charges regarding this case have been filed against El-Atari in Loudoun courts or federal courts.
A message at El-Atari's home phone number said that the phone has been temporarily disconnected. His address is on Belmont Station Drive in Ashburn.
Employees of the restaurants El-Atari owned have posted on a message board saying he no longer has anything to do with the restaurants and the new owner is former Washington Redskin Marvcus Patton.
A message left on Patton's cell phone was not returned by the Times-Mirror's deadline.
Contact the reporter at jwagoner@timespapers.com
Times Community © 2007 | Loudoun Times-Mirror

 

W-O-W!!!

Mike

 

Berk, you need to find some nicer boys to play with.

 

Mike - This guy actually showed up to the Ferrari/Lambo of Washington event I put together last October 08. He was the younger looking guy w/ a light beard driving the Black Ferrari 599. He got kicked out of the Ferrari of Washington Track event b/c he was driving unsafely per the organizers apparently. BTW - that was his second 599, apparently he wrecked the first one....hahahahaha

 

C'Mon Scott, everyone I hang with has some degree of shadyness.....I'm mean, I do hang out with you....

 

I have talked to the guy here and there over the last few years. Definetly a jerk in my book. I thought I also heard they seized his new $3 million dollar home in Ashburn.

 

Yes they did. I work with a guy who lives right behind him......HAHAHAHAHA....

 

That's crazy...I've seen him around numerous times.

By chance, did his 599 have Montana plates? Maybe I'm thinking of another car.

 

I believe 2 or 3 of his F-Cars at currently for sale at FoW.

 

JT3 - I don't know, his 599 is BLACK w/ BLACK wheels I believe

DETAILGUY - Those cars may no longer be his......let's just say it is ours as tax payers.....SEIZURES!!!!!

 

<P>He had Alaska plates on his Ford pick-up that was parked outside the restauraunt in Ashburn on Father's Day....I&nbsp;heard that it too has been 'removed'....what a mess.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</P>