Assemi son suing father, uncles alleging fraud, breach of contract and wrongful termination
Kevin Assemi, the former head of Maricopa Orchards, an Assemi farming company, is suing his father, Farid Assemi, and his uncles, Darius Assemi and Farshid Assemi, alleging fraud, breach of contract, and wrongful termination.
He is seeking general, special and punitive financial damages to be proven at trial.
The Assemi family, one of the most influential in the Fresno area, is known for farming almonds and pistachios as well as prolific home building with its Granville Homes company. They are also founders of California Health Sciences University — a for-profit medical school in Clovis, and they are regular contributors to political candidates.
Kevin Assemi, who joined the Assemi Group in 2010 as a lawyer, rose up the ranks within the family business, eventually becoming president of the company in 2018 and then chief executive officer of Maricopa Orchards in 2019.
Around 2018, Kevin Assemi began noticing that his father was becoming increasingly forgetful and was worried it was affecting his business judgment, according to the lawsuit. He and other members of the family’s second generation reached out to Darius and Farshid with their concerns.
After sharing his uneasiness about his father’s health, Kevin Assemi alleges in the lawsuit that he was fired as CEO of Maricopa Orchards.
He alleges his uncles agreed to pay him $11.5 million in severance, but to date has only been paid $4.5 million.
An attorney representing the Assemi brothers could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Attorney Stan Blyth, who represents Kevin Assemi, said that after his client was removed from his post as CEO he was given the responsibility of running another farming company, Elevated Ag, LLC.
But Kevin Assemi alleges in the lawsuit that his uncles and others prevented the company from becoming fully funded.
The lawsuit also alleges Elevated Ag was further stymied by the failure of Maricopa Orchards to make good on its agreement to contribute $300,000. The funds were to be used to plant trees and maintain existing orchards.
Kevin Assemi also became aware in June that Maricopa was trying to secure a $13 million loan with Farm Credit West by falsely claiming it owned a majority interest in Elevated Ag. Kevin Assemi had majority interest in Elevated Ag, according to the lawsuit.
“These funds were needed because Defendants had run Assemi and the Assemi Affiliates, including Maricopa into the ground. In their own words, the Assemi empire was near bankruptcy, and the Assemi brothers were simply trying to stay afloat,” the lawsuit states.
The 88-page lawsuit contains 31 causes of action against the defendants.
Blyth said in a news release that his client tried four times to mediate these issues with relatives to try and reach a resolution.
“But each time he was dealt with in bad faith, with relatives only placing importance on his assets, their value and their ability to stave off insolvency for a little longer,” Blyth said.
