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Yesterday, Nice Kicks broke the news that Michael Malekzadeh and Bethany Mockerman of Zadeh Kicks plead guilty to federal charges of Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. Malekzadeh and Mockerman were indicted in 2022 following the voluntary dissolution of Zadeh Kicks LLC.
This morning, Nice Kicks exclusively received a statement from Malekzadeh’s counsel, Michelle Kerin of Angeli & Calfo, about his guity plea.
Over the past three years, Michael Malekzadeh has done everything in his power to accept responsibility for his wrongdoing and make things right with the people who trusted him.
In early 2022, Mr. Malekzadeh took the extraordinary step of turning himself in to the FBI before any investigation had even begun.
To maximize the victims’ recovery, he had millions of dollars’ worth of items and cash delivered to the federal government. And he voluntarily filed for a civil receivership for his company, Zadeh Kicks, to make sure the company’s assets were preserved and fairly distributed to victims. Mr. Malekzadeh fully funded the receivership and provided extraordinary cooperation to the receiver over the past 3 years, resulting in victims and creditors recovering millions of dollars.
Yesterday’s guilty plea was the latest step in Mr. Malekzadeh’s three-year, single-minded mission to make amends for what he did wrong. Even after his criminal sentence is imposed, Mr. Malekzadeh will continue that effort.
Michael Malekzadeh is scheduled to be sentenced on August 12, 2025. Bethany Mockerman is scheduled to be sentenced on August 26, 2025.
Nice Kicks has remained committed to the coverage of the story and providing the truth from all perspectives. Our investigative piece The Rise and Multi-Million Dollar Fall of Zadeh Kicks outlined the history of the Zadeh Kicks business originally published in June of 2022.
