The man who has been nominated by Afghanistan's government to be its next ambassador to the U.K. has been accused of committing mortgage fraud in California.
Mohammad Daud Yaar, who is currently director of economic affairs at the Afghan foreign ministry, has been selected by President Hamid Karzai to represent his country's diplomatic interests in London. However, Afghanistan's Surghar Daily reports that Yaar was sued in 2009 for ‘breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud’ in connection to a case in which Yaar purchased a California home in 2001 on behalf of an Afghan immigrant family, the Staneckzais, that was unable to obtain a mortgage.
The family, which made mortgage payments directly to Yaar, was able to get a home loan in 2005, but Yaar allegedly reneged on a previous promise to transfer the deed to the Staneckzais and, instead, sold it to them in $358,900. In August 2010, a court ruled against Yaar and ordered him to pay $120,000 to the family; to date, only $10,000 has been paid.
‘I was a part-time student at university back in 2001, which is why I couldn't get a loan,’ says Jamal Staneckzai, whose family sued Yaar. ‘We regarded Yaar as a close and respected uncle. He told us, 'You guys will pay the mortgage costs, and I will transfer everything back to you.' Instead, he took every dollar from us. He took our equity.’
Yaar has refuted the charges raised by the Staneckzai family.