DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — A Deerfield Beach gym owner reached out to Contact 5 after allegedly losing $40,000 paid to a contractor who never completed his next gym.
Opening a F45 fitness studio in Deerfield Beach was Michael Padden’s dream.
“I wanted to get a second one going, I enjoyed it so much. So last year, I got the territory for Miami,” Padden told Contact 5.
He purchased space in Miami at the end of 2021 and hired Mandour Construction, based in Sunrise, in February, according to his signed contract he showed Contact 5.
“After we signed, I gave him a deposit,” said Padden, referring to Shrief Mandour, the president of the company. “That’s when Shrief stopped answering phone calls and emails, and we were getting excuses when he did respond.”
Padden told Contact 5 he is now out $40,000.
“The deposit was $45,000. Shrief Mandour did pay $5,000 to an alarm company to do some work. So he owes us $40,000,” Padden said.
Padden provided Contact 5 with proof of payment, the complaint he filed with Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office, along with an email receipt from the AG’s office that names Mandour Construction.
“Shrief is gone, nowhere to be found,” Padden said.
A search though Palm Beach County court records revealed two recent lawsuits filed against Mandour Construction.
One was filed in early August by a Singer Island condominium.
According to the suit, they hired Mandour to “complete extensive renovations to the lobby.” It goes on to say Mandour was paid $108,291.17 in March of 2021 yet he “breached the terms of the contract” “by failing to pay it’s subcontractors and substantially complete the renovation.”
A second lawsuit filed back in May alleges a Royal Palm Beach restaurant group paid Mandour Construction an $89,000 deposit as an advance for work to be completed. It says “however, Mandour Construction only completed a portion of the work."
The lawsuit claims the company promised to pay the balance of deposit but never did.
Contact 5 tried calling Mandour. He never called Contact 5 back.
“I don’t want this to happen to someone again and there’s other people that won’t escape as easily as I did," said Padden. "I was able to provide the funds to make up for the difference, but not everybody is.”
According to Palm Beach County court records, Mandour has not yet responded to the two lawsuits that have been filed against him.
