Neil Kadisha is one of Los Angeles' richest people, with a fortune based largely on his stake in the once-highflying wireless tech firm Qualcomm Inc.
The 51-year-old venture capitalist and father of three -- worth $910 million by one estimate -- also is known as a generous benefactor of charitable causes here and in Israel.
But a recent court decision casts him in a far harsher light, finding that he relied on more than savvy for his success.
Over an eight-year span beginning in 1988, Kadisha looted the trust funds of a young widow and her children and then parlayed the ill-gotten gains into a sizable chunk of his wealth, a judge ruled.
"Kadisha was no more than a common thief in his monumental takings of [their] money for his own use and benefit," Judge Henry W. Shatford wrote in a blistering, 190-page decision that capped a four-year civil trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Portraying Kadisha as self-serving and deceptive, Shatford said the Beverly Hills resident took $6.2 million from Dafna Uzyel, a family friend who sought his help after her husband died. While acting as trustee for Uzyel and her children, he used their money to replenish his Union Bank credit line, buy real estate and acquire Qualcomm stock.
"Kadisha could have been charged under the Penal Code for Grand Theft ... for his misappropriations," Shatford wrote. The allegations have never been investigated as a crime.
Shatford ordered Kadisha, a former Qualcomm director and once one of its largest shareholders, to pay the family $100 million, including $5 million in punitive damages.
Kadisha, who declined to be interviewed, has asked for a new trial and plans to appeal. He contends that the funds he took from the family's trusts were legitimate loans, ultimately repaid in full, with interest.
"I am deeply disappointed that what began as an effort to help a family friend, at her request, resulted in these unfair claims," he said in a written statement.
Kadisha's lawyers say that Shatford's references to him as a criminal are unjustified and should be removed from the decision, which was made public last month, after the bench trial.
The case is remarkable for several reasons, including the size of the award, which legal experts say is extraordinary among trust cases involving individuals. It also stands out because the Uzyels' trusts eventually gained $20 million despite Kadisha's actions, unlike cases in which unscrupulous trustees have left their victims penniless.
