Wellington Man Predicts Windfall That Will Save His Investors -- and Himself -- From Ruin

By Thomas Francis Tue., Oct. 6 2009 at 10:22 AM

Categories: Palm Beach

photo: rondavisfilmmaker.com

Zada on the cover of Riches to Rags, a documentary by Ron Davis, who claims to be a victim.

Joe Zada, the alleged fraudster who owned a home in Wellington and a patron of that town's equestrian scene, told a Detroit newspaper that he expects to receive an enormous payment that will allow him to resolve outstanding debts to such investors as hockey star Sergei Federov.

From an article in this weekend's Detroit Free Press that isn't available on the paper's website:

Depending who you ask in the Grosse Pointe (Michigan) and Palm Beach, Fla., social circles he traversed, Zada got rich by:

Building his mother's divorce settlement into a fortune.

Buying oil cheap and, on the advice of oil cartel insiders, selling when the price shot up.

Inheriting millions from his Saudi lover.

Zada will not say which -- if any -- of these stories is true. He offers only assurances that, any day now, a large sum will be transferred to his accounts, allowing him to repay more than $75 million he owes creditors like Sergei Fedorov, the former Red Wings star, who estimates he invested $43 million with Zada over the past decade but has received virtually no return.

Don't hold your breath, Zada investors. The paper also published details about how Zada spent his money:

Zada denied himself few extravagances, if his October 2007 American Express statement is any indication:

London: A $67,261 stay at the posh Dorchester Hotel.

Las Vegas: $3,022 at SW Steakhouse and $2,189 for a night at the MGM Grand Hotel.

Florida: $4,000 at Palm Beach Massage.

Now wait just a second. Are we to believe that there's a message worth $4,000? Mind you, another Palm Beach massage aficionado, Jeffrey Epstein, paid just $200 for his massages, which were performed by underaged girls. What exactly does one get for four grand?