Two Eugene-based sneaker resellers pleaded guilty Thursday to a more than $80 million fraud scheme.
Zadeh Kicks' owner Michael Malekzadeh and Chief Financial Officer Bethany Mockerman were charged with falsifying information on multiple bank loan applications, and receiving more than $15 million in the process.
Malekzadeh was also charged with wire fraud against customers. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he owed more than $65 million in unfulfilled shoe orders by April 2022.
In one instance, Malekzadeh allegedly took over 600,000 pre-orders from customers for a new Air Jordan, obtained only over 6,000 pairs, and then withheld full refunds.
Brendan Dunne, a sneaker journalist with Complex, told KLCC in 2022 that Zadeh Kicks was once one of the industry’s most high-profile resellers. But he said Malekzadeh had promised customers something impossible.
"You would never reasonably be able to get 600,000 pairs of a sneaker like that," said Dunne. "For somebody who was running an operation out of a warehouse locally in Eugene, that number is ludicrous."
Malekzadeh and Mockerman have now agreed to plea deals, which require them to repay those they defrauded, and forfeit "any criminally-derived proceeds and property used to facilitate their crimes."
Their sentencings are scheduled for August. Malekzadah faces up to 50 years in prison, while Mockerman faces up to 30 years. Both defendants may also receive fines, and five-years of supervised release each.
Meanwhile, KLCC reported in 2023 that Zadeh Kicks owed Oregon over $19 million in unpaid taxes. But as of March 2025, the company appears to have been removed from the state's list of delinquent taxpayers.
