Mississippi-based real estate broker Zacharia ‘Zakk’ Varughese is once again back in the headlines. Varughese first made headlines some time ago after Bazaar Daily discovered he quietly changed his name and concealed felony convictions from his past.
The Lowdown
According to lawsuit documents obtained by Bazaar Insider, Varughese who was infamously revealed to be a convicted felon (according to court documents) born under an entirely different name has learned his fate. His fate in connection to claims that he disparaged another real estate broker by falsely calling them a pedophile online.
The documents show that Varughese is suing the Central Mississippi Realtors Association and its board of directors after they suspended him for ethics violations. Those violations include specifically disparaging another real estate broker by falsely calling them a pedophile on the internet. Docs revealed that he was formally suspended sometime in February of this year.
Varughese similar to previous claims and lawsuits also claims in this suit that the ethics complaints against Varughese are ‘without merit.’ Though for instance the very comments that got him suspended can be seen below and from his own Facebook profile.
In the new suit, Varughese claims that he was being targeted by Mr Metcalf a fellow real estate broker at the heart of the claims that got Varughese booted. As we have noted numerous times, we have been unable to confirm the claims that Varughese made in regards to being targeted. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Metcalf intentionally targeted Varughese over an alleged ethics complaint filed against one of Metcalf’s brokers (Varughese claims it all amounts to retaliation but that simply is not true.)
For those that recall, Varughese has disparaged people online before which can be read here.
We actually reported on the very comments he made that got him suspended.
As a consequence, Varughese has a letter of reprimand on file for 3 years, must take a NAR ethics course, a $500 fine, suspension from CMR for three years, and a full revocation of privileges related to MLS.