The Third Broken Promise
— The Hidden Ledger (Part One) —
A Class A Investor’s Account of the Dallas Town East Records Experience
In real estate investment, many things look perfect at the start.
On paper, the project and the partnership are orderly, precise, and quiet — like a house that has not yet shown its cracks.
I began following a real estate project in the Dallas area in 2020. The project is located in Mesquite, Texas, involving the development and management of over forty residential units. According to the project documents, the Land company is the Class A Member, with a capital contribution of several hundred thousand dollars and a contractual preferred return and priority distribution arrangement.
This was not a small investment. Nor was it a vague, handshake arrangement.
The agreement was signed on April 13, 2021. The contribution amount was specified. The membership was specified. The managers’ obligations were specified. The right to inspect the books was specified. As an investor, I had no reason at the time to doubt that the project would be carried out according to the agreement and its written terms.
Time passed. By December 2024, the project was completed. Mr. Cyrus told me that selling now would yield little profit and suggested leasing instead. On January 21, 2025, I met with Mr. Cyrus and his two principals, R and J, at their office. At the time, a number of units were still seeking tenants. They said that if we sold now, our share of profits — apart from the compounding arrangements — would be only in the tens of thousands of dollars; but if we waited roughly two more years, they were confident they could increase our distributable profit to over a million. My friend Mr. H, who had originally introduced Cyrus, and I left the meeting satisfied. By March 2026, I began doing something an investor should do: asking to see the project’s actual financial condition.
The First Promise
March 18, 2026.
Mr. H and I emailed the project managers with a straightforward request: could we see a P&L for the project, and was there any update on exit planning?
This was not an unreasonable ask. Section 8.1(d) of the agreement provides that any member may inspect the company’s books during reasonable hours. Section 9.5 also addresses the managers’ obligation to provide records relating to loans, sales, and properties upon written request from a member.
Cyrus Zadeh replied on March 22. The gist: R was traveling, and they would send us something later that week.
One week passed. Then another. On April 1, Mr. H followed up again. This time he asked R directly whether he had time to put the documents together, because I needed a project update.
This meant that nearly two weeks after the initial request, I — as the investor — had still not received the financial information I was entitled to.
In the end, we still did not receive a complete, clear financial response that explained the project’s actual condition.
Six Months of Fragments
Over the following months, the project managers’ responses became increasingly fragmented.
On one occasion, Cyrus said the audit would be completed in about 30 days. That was May 23, 2026. By the end of September — more than four months later — the audit report had still not appeared.
On the same day, he also said the 2025 K-1 — the document that would record my interest and returns — should have already been received. But on July 8, another manager stated by email that the 2025 tax return had been extended and the K-1 did not yet exist.
By July, I formally expressed my intention to exit and requested a clear repayment plan. The project managers said market conditions were unfavorable and selling now would result in losses. But that statement was not supported by any financial data, valuation analysis, or verifiable documentation.
In August, I requested four critical categories of records: annual financial statements, audit reports or reviewed statements, loan agreements and current balances, and related-party transaction details.
Some documents arrived over time, but they were always incomplete. Some of them brought not answers but new questions.
For example, one set of financials showed that by May 2026, the project’s cash on hand was only about ten thousand dollars, with zero revenue recorded for the year. For a project involving over forty residential units, that figure naturally raises questions: where is the rental income? How is the project’s cash flow being recorded? Which entity is receiving the income and bearing the expenses?
The project managers had said that other properties in the group were covering the project’s shortfalls. But at the same time, the books showed a different picture: an affiliated entity was recorded as owing the project over two million dollars.
Between those two statements, a clear reconciliation is needed.
As of today, I have not received one.
That balance of over two million dollars has been the focus of my repeated inquiries. It is recorded in the accounting ledger as a receivable associated with an affiliated entity. In other words, the project’s books appear to show that a certain affiliated entity owes Town East over two million dollars. Since July, I have made multiple written requests for the basis of this amount — the underlying documentation, promissory note, interest rate, collateral, repayment terms, and authorization.
I have received some explanations but not a complete, verifiable chain of documents.
If this is an intercompany loan, there should be loan documentation. If it is a project cost allocation, there should be an allocation basis. If it is an accounting reclassification, there should be an accounting memo. Otherwise, a Class A investor is fully justified in asking: where did this money come from, where did it go, and why can it still not be clearly explained? An investor asking these questions is not being provocative — he is trying to determine where his capital and his rights actually stand.
The Second Promise
On September 9, I decided to compile all outstanding questions into a single formal written request.
The purpose was not to create confrontation, but to bring the conversation back to documents, contractual provisions, and facts.
We raised five core questions:
First, how is the Class A interest confirmed? What is the exact amount of the principal plus the accrued preferred return as of the current date?
Second, how was the affiliated-party receivable of over two million dollars formed? Is there a promissory note, interest rate, collateral, repayment schedule, and repayment arrangement?
Third, what is the ownership and transfer status of the over forty properties? Which properties were transferred to which entities, were the required approvals obtained, and what was the consideration?
Fourth, where are the complete financial statements, footnotes, and audit or review status for 2023, 2024, and 2025?
Fifth, why do the valuation reports show a quantity discrepancy? Do the appraisal documents provided cover all properties, and how are any missing items explained?
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None of these are abstract questions. They all point to the same core issue: what is the actual status of this project? How is the Class A investor’s interest being confirmed, protected, or exited?
September 9 — the request was sent.
September 14 — Cyrus replied. He confirmed receipt and said he would work through the items and respond by September 23.
This was the second specific promise.
The Third Promise
September 23 arrived. No response.
On September 27, Mr. H told me by text message that Cyrus said he would send an email that same day. This became the third promise.
By September 30, that email had still not arrived. As of October 2, I still have not received a substantive response. Where is Mr. Cyrus?
At this point, it is no longer about a single document being late or a single email being delayed.
March 22 — “later this week” — not honored.
September 14 — “by September 23” — not honored.
September 27 — “today” — not honored.
These promises were not made in casual conversation. They were made after an investor formally requested books, financial records, and confirmation of his rights.
What I Really Want to Know
I am not drawing legal conclusions here.
I am not saying Cyrus Zadeh or any project manager deliberately deceived anyone. Nor am I saying they misappropriated funds.
What I can state with certainty is this: as a Class A investor, I raised specific, written, agreement-based questions. The project managers confirmed receipt multiple times. They gave specific response dates multiple times. And those dates were missed every time.
That, in itself, is a fact.
And that fact is enough to raise deeper questions:
If the books are in order, why can they not be produced?
If the project is in difficulty, why can that not be disclosed?
If the affiliated-party receivable has a legitimate basis, why can the documentation not be provided?
If the Class A interest is undisputed, why can it not be confirmed in writing?
If it is simply a matter of needing more time, why give a date each time — and miss it each time?
These questions are not aggressive. What is truly aggressive is the silence itself.
Public Image and Investor Experience
Public records show that Cyrus Zadeh is associated with Camden Homes, CooperZadeh, and other real estate development, homebuilding, and property management operations in the Dallas area. The public-facing materials of these companies use extensive language about integrity, transparency, client communication, and long-term reputation.
It is precisely for that reason that I would like to see those values reflected in actual project dealings.
Reputation is not a sentence on a website.
A developer’s true reputation does not come solely from how many houses he has built, how many properties he manages, or how many industry events he attends. More importantly, it comes from how he treats an investor who once trusted him and put capital in his hands.
Transparency Is a Baseline
Investments can lose money. Projects can run into trouble. Markets can turn. Development can be delayed.
None of those are the most frightening outcome.
The most frightening outcome is when an investor requests basic information and the response becomes a promise; the promise becomes a wait; and the wait becomes silence.
In any partnership, the flow of information is the foundation of trust. If the books cannot be seen, the finances cannot be explained, and promises cannot be kept, then the relationship has already developed a serious problem.
I still hope this matter can be resolved in a rational, documented, and verifiable manner.
I still hope the project managers will provide the books, financial records, related-party transaction details, property status, Class A interest confirmation, and an exit proposal.
But after the third broken promise, I am beginning to understand: some questions, if they remain unanswered long enough, become part of the answer themselves.
The story is not over. There may be more to come. Stay tuned.
Schultz October 2, 2026, New York
