Michael Malekzadeh, the man behind Zadeh Kicks, just got sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. The 42-year-old from Eugene, Oregon ran one of the sneaker community's biggest scams ever.
He stole approximately $80 million from sneaker collectors, everyday customers, and financial institutions. On top of prison time, he faces five years of supervised release afterward. The court ordered Malekzadeh to forfeit over $15 million in assets back to victims.
His fraud destroyed financial security and delayed major life milestones for countless people. People couldn't buy homes, retire, or move forward with their lives because of him. U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford didn't mince words calling it pure "insatiable greed."
For years, Zadeh Kicks looked like a legit sneaker resale platform to everyone. Malekzadeh collected payments knowing he'd never actually send the sneakers out to customers. Instead, he blew the money on his own lavish lifestyle choices consistently.
The FBI finally stepped in after mountains of complaints from scammed buyers piled up. FBI Special Agent Stephanie Shark put it bluntly in her statement about the case. He literally took money from kids and adults promising sneakers that never existed.
This represents probably the biggest fraud case in sneakers. But, it isn't the only major fraud investigation rocking sneaker resale lately.
Back in October 2025, we covered Cool Kicks owner Adeel Shams getting arrested during an LAPD raid. The high-profile Melrose Avenue store owner faced felony fraud charges after police raided their warehouse. Cool Kicks claimed the issues involved allegedly stolen goods sold in good faith.
These back-to-back cases show serious problems exist within the sneaker resale industry.
Zadeh Kicks Lawsuit
Michael Malekzadeh operated Zadeh Kicks as a sneaker resale business while running a massive fraud operation. He accepted payments from thousands of customers for limited sneakers he never planned to ship.
The money funded his expensive lifestyle including luxury purchases and personal expenses for years. Malekzadeh also defrauded multiple banks through false loan applications and financial misrepresentations.
The scheme totaled approximately $80 million in losses across all victims. Prosecutors presented evidence showing deliberate intent to defraud from the operation's beginning stages.
The investigation revealed Malekzadeh knew he couldn't fulfill orders but continued accepting new payments. The victims of this were sneaker collectors of all ages who trusted that Zadeh Kicks was legitimate.
