The financial empire of a prominent Fresno developer is under scrutiny following allegations of financial misconduct. Darius Assemi, a key figure in Fresno’s business landscape, is accused of diverting millions of dollars from his homebuilding company, Granville Homes to secretly repurchase a ranch his family had lost to creditors.
The allegations surfaced in a complaint filed on June 16 in Fresno county Superior Court by Ryan Toncheff, the former chief financial officer of Granville Homes. Toncheff claims Assemi fired him after he refused to certify financial statements he believed were false and warned that Granville Homes was insolvent.
Allegations of Financial Mismanagement
Toncheff’s complaint paints a picture of financial desperation within Granville Homes. He alleges that Assemi used the homebuilding company to circumvent the agricultural banks trying to recoup their costs following a $700 million loan default in 2026. The complaint names Granville Homes and Assemi personally, along with up to 50 unnamed defendants, and brings claims of wrongful terminationwhistleblower retaliationfraud and unfair business practices.
Assemi has denied the allegations, describing Toncheff as a disgruntled employee with performance issues. In a statement, Assemi asserted that Granville Homes remains financially healthy and that the financial challenges stem from the family’s agricultural operations, overseen by his brother, Farid Assemi.
The Mission Ranch Acquisition
At the heart of the complaint is a 330-acre tract in southwest Fresno known as Mission Ranch. The Assemi family lost this property following their $700 million loan default. In January, a federal judge placed roughly 50,000 acres of distressed farmland under a court-appointed receiver, Lance Miller.
On January 9 Miller sold Mission Ranch for an estimated $14 million to Running Stallion Ranch LLC an entity incorporated in late December by Nader Malakan, CEO of Fresno’s Malakan Diamond Co. Toncheff alleges that the money used to buy Mission Ranch wasn’t Malakan’s but Assemi’s, with the funds coming from Granville Homes’ operating accounts.
Toncheff claims that Running Stallion was a straw purchaser with Assemi supplying the roughly $14 million to $16 million. After the sale closed, the membership interests in Running Stallion were transferred to two entities Assemi controls, Photo Finish LLC and Grass Valley Bluffs Inc. making Assemi the effective owner of the land while keeping his name off the deed.
Insolvency and Retaliation
The core allegation in Toncheff’s suit is that Granville Homes is cash-flow insolvent unable to pay its debts as they come due. Toncheff, who joined Granville in mid-2026, claims he was recruited with a promise of a path to roughly $300,000 a year within six months. However, the raise never materialized, even after he lined up roughly $100 million in loans for Granville.
Toncheff alleges that Granville had become an octopus of debt with each lender seeing only the arm it had loaned against. From his vantage as CFO, he could see that the company carried more debt than it could feasibly service. When Toncheff refused to certify statements in Granville’s 2026 CPA review that he believed were inaccurate, he says Assemi retaliated.
On May 23 Toncheff told Assemi he believed the company was insolvent. Soon after, he was accused of producing distorted work and frozen out of cash-flow meetings. On June 4 his email and system access were cut, and on June 10 he was told it was his last day.
The lawsuit comes as the Assemi family faces significant financial troubles. The family’s troubles trace to a failed bid to break from Stewart Resnick and build a rival processing empire called Touchstone. After that gambit unraveled, the family defaulted on more than $700 million owed to Prudential, PGIM, and U.S. Bank.
