Henri Zogaib

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Henri Zogaib (born 5 July 1973 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a Lebanese-born American racing driver and convicted scam artist. Zogaib primarily ran in the Rolex Sports Car Series.

Racing career[edit]

After graduating from the Skip Barber Racing School Zogaib's first appearance in professional auto racing came at California Speedway in the Grand-Am Cup. The Daytona Beach, Florida resident joined Schuitemaker Motorsports in the GS class. With teammate J. C. France the duo finished their Nissan 350Z thirteenth overall, twelfth in class.[1] The Lebanese born driver again joined the team during the 2005 race at Watkins Glen International. This time Zogaib was joined by Murray Marden to score a 43rd-place finish, 34th in class.[2]

In 2005 Zogaib also competed in the Rolex Sports Car Series for Blackforest Motorsports. A crash ended his debut in the 24 Hours of Daytona early. At Watkins Glen International Zogaib scored a tenth-place finish in the Spirit of Daytona Racing Crawford DP03. For 2007 Zogaib joined Michael Shank Racing for a partial season in the Rolex Sports Car Series. The driver ran four races in one of their Lexus powered Riley Mk. XI chassis. A seventh place at Miller Motorsports Park was Zogaib's best result.

For 2008 Zogaib joined SAMAX Motorsport for a full-time season with seasoned veteran Ryan Dalziel. The team, headed by Peter Baron, was flying high with a second place at Virginia International Raceway and a win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Ponzi scheme[edit]

In 2009 a Ponzi scheme involving Zogaib and business associate Paul Bellanca was uncovered.

Zogaib and Bellanca promised prospective investors a return of up to 40% on their investment. The duo set up front companies such as Executive Investment Group LLC and Diversified Equity Investment Group LLC.

Many racing drivers were victims of the scam: teammate Ryan Dalziel and his family lost approximately $550.000. Another victim, A. J. Allmendinger, invested a sum of money but he got his money back.[3] SAMAX Motorsport boss Peter Baron lost approximately $400,000 to Zogaib.[4] In total, $5.400.000 was lost by 33 investors.[5]

Zogaib was arrested in 2010, and in 2014 was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He is currently detained at Tomoka Correctional Institution.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Grand-Am Cup Series Provisional Race Results" (PDF). IMSA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Grand-Am Cup Series Race Results" (PDF). IMSA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  3. ^ "FDLE: Daytona race-car driver, pal bilked investors". Orlando Sentinel. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  4. ^ ""THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT HENRI"". Cold Pit. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Zogaib, Loles Sentenced to Prison Terms – Sportscar365". Retrieved 2017-12-31.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henri_Zogaib&oldid=1193845950"