The imam who was involved in the so-called “Ground Zero mosque” controversy has settled a lawsuit accusing him of lining his pockets with donor money.
As part of the deal ending dueling lawsuits in Washington and New York, the donors who made the accusations, Robert Deak and wife Moshira Soliman, returned $1.35 million to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf‘s Cordoba Initiative.
The couple’s suit had charged that the imam and his wife embezzled millions from donors to fund their own lavish lifestyle. Rauf’s lawyers denied the allegations.
That action was filed after Rauf sued Deak in Washington, charging the political power player had swindled him in a $1.5 million apartment deal there.
In a statement Thursday, Deak said, “We have resolved our dispute with Imam Feisal. . . . We are now satisfied that neither he, nor his wife were involved in any wrongdoing.”
Rauf co-led efforts to build a controversial Islamic community center that became known as the “Ground Zero” mosque but was later ousted.