A 17th century violin that was played around the world by soloist Eugenia Choi is now being strummed in court as the instrument of a dirty deal.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Choi, 38, is accusing businessman Samer Hamadeh of cheating her out of her share of the profits when he sold the violin in 2012 and didn’t share the profits with her as promised.
Choi, who has played solos in Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and on stages around the world, says in court papers that she agreed to help Hamadeh find an antique violin that he would purchase and that she would play for several years in order to enhance its value.
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In return, Hamadeh, 46, agreed to share with her a percentage of any profit he made when he sold it, the suit says.
In 2008, the Julliard-trained violinist found a 1699 violin made by Giovanni Battista Rogeri. Hamadeh bought it for $353,400. After Choi played it all around the world for almost five years, court papers say, Hamadeh sold the violin in 2012 for $500,000.
Court papers say Hamadeh refused to pay Choi the $57,500 she claims was her due.
Hamadeh did not return a request for comment left at his new business, Zeel, an on demand wellness company.
Court papers say Hamadeh refused to pay Choi because the violin did not sell for as much as he hoped and he offered her $25,000 instead. She refused and sued him instead for fraud.
“Hamadeh, a wealthy businessman, founder of the well known industry ranking website Vault.com…took advantage of a world renowned musician’s talent, career and connections for his own financial gain,” court papers say.
“It was really her sweat equity. You can increase the value of an instrument when someone of note plays it,” said Choi’s attorney Steven Rappoport.
Court papers note that Hamadeh sold the violin two days after reaching a deal with New York State tax authorities who’d accused him of underpaying taxes on profits that he made when he sold Vault.com. The deal required him to cough up more than $680,000.
Did Hamadeh sell the violin to pay his tax bill?
“That is one way to read it. The papers speak for themselves,” Rappoport said.
