Crime & Safety

Wealthy Saudi Family Drops Lawsuit Against Newport Film Producer

The Algosaibi Family was suing Glenn Stewart for allegedly fraudulently obtaining loans.

By City News Service

A wealthy Saudi Arabian family has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit against a Newport Beach film producer and former banker who the plaintiffs alleged was a key player in a $9 billion global Ponzi scheme, attorneys announced Tuesday.

The Algosaibi family and its partnership, Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers, sued Glenn Stewart in March 2011 for allegedly fraudulently obtaining loans while he was chief executive of The International Banking Corp., a Bahraini bank.

"After several years of scorched earth litigation where we chipped away at the plaintiff's case, we feel totally vindicated by this settlement," said Haig V. Kalbian, lead counsel for Stewart. "We knew that this case should never have been brought against Glenn Stewart. The fact that the other side has walked away from the case for no money speaks volumes."

According to Monday's settlement, Stewart will not have to pay the Algosaibis any money, attorneys said. But Stewart agreed to meet with Algosaibi attorneys to discuss transactions that apparently resulted in the lawsuit, according to Eric Lewis, the Saudi partnership's legal coordinator.

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Such information "at the end of the day is far more valuable than any monetary recovery against him as an individual," Lewis said.

The Algosaibi family alleged that Stewart, who had previously worked for one of their companies, was one of the architects of a massive international fraud and money laundering scheme. The case is one of many lawsuits brought throughout the world involving an internal Algosaibi family feud dating back to 2009, according to Kalbian.

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Stewart fled Bahrain in 2010 and returned to the United States, which has no extradition treaty with Bahrain, the attorney said.

Stewart is credited as an executive producer on "The Messenger," which was nominated for two 2010 Academy Awards, including a supporting actor nod for Woody Harrelson, "New York, I Love You," "Lesbian Vampire Killers" and about a dozen other films.

The case was filed in Los Angeles federal court because Stewart is a resident of the area.

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