March in Montauk has traditionally been a month filled with Irish traditions and celebrations since a few “Friends of Erin” began marching in the hamlet in 1962.
This year it may be significant to some as March 5 is the date the operators of the restaurant called “Kenny’s Castaways”, run under the corporate name of “SRL Montauk LLC”, are slated to cede possession of that operation to property owners “Kenny’s Tipperary Inn, Inc.” after an eviction trial in East Hampton Town Court that ended on April 23, 2024.
In 2019, a search of the name “Mario Yagobi” or “Yagubi” in 2019 might have brought up a picture and bio of him on a ‘Wickipedia’ page touting that person as “an American doctor and restaurateur who was the president and CEO of Boxing 360, a boxing promotional group located in New York City, founded in 2009”. In fact, “Mario” used that name with various spellings of “Yagobi” while searching for ‘business opportunities’ in Montauk in January of 2019, failing to tell the community and those he dealt with in Montauk and beyond that his real name is “Merhdad E. Yaghoubi”, that he was sentenced to 1 year in the Ulster Correctional Facility in April 2016 after being convicted of Grand Larceny In The Second Degree (a Class C felony), and that his parole after being released from that facility in 2017 maxed out in April 2019. He also failed to introduce his brother “Anthony”, whose real name is “Merhzad Yaghoubi”, as his ‘business partner’ in Kenny’s Castaways, although Merhzad’s name is listed on the liquor license application filed with the New York State Liquor Authority in October of 2020.
A search of the names “Mario Yagobi” “Merhdad Yaghoubi” or “Merhzad Yaghoubi” today might render a vastly different result, including the fact that their stated ‘home base’ at 50 Harrison Avenue in Springs (which is also the registered place of business for SRL Montauk LLC) has been the subject of foreclosure actions on and off for almost a decade with Wells Fargo Bank trying to evict “Mehrzad Yaghoubi a/k/a Merhdad Yaghoubi a/k/a Mehrad Yaghoubi a/k/a Mario Yagobi”. As it stands, the bank would be in first position to collect its money ahead of others owed in judgments filed as liens against the property, including Merle McDonald Aaron d/b/a Harborside Motel, Ferraro Foods, Inc., and New York State Departments of Labor and Taxation and Finance.
Although the Suffolk County Sherrif’s office posted a “14 Day Notice” to “SRL Montauk LLC d/b/a Kenny’s Castaways, Merhdad Yaghoubi and Merhzhad Yaghoubi”, at the restaurant on February 28 ordering them to remove any of their personal possessions before March 5, or said possessions would be removed with the help of the Sherrif’s Office, the Kenny family began trying to evict “Merhzad ‘Mario’ Yaghoubi” and “Kenny’s Castaways” in September of 2021 after self-claimed “owner/operator” Mario refused to pay the Kenny family rent after opening the restaurant on May 5, 2021. In papers filed in Supreme Court on January 10, 2022 the brothers asked that the proceedings in East Hampton Justice Court be stayed, claiming they had a valid lease with the Kennys which allowed them to operate the restaurant for 50 years, and granted them a right of first refusal to buy the whole property, including the motel.
Since appearing in Montauk in 2019, the Yaghoubi brothers have used numerous aliases and each other’s names interchangeably. They have bilked at least three other property owners out of rent due and stiffed food purveyors, PSEG, plumbers, advertisers and other local businesses out of over $200,000, including legal fees. During the eviction trial, it came to light that the purported lease they claimed to have had was not signed by the property owners, and that over two million dollars’ worth of judgments are currently lodged against the brothers, with some of the largest amounts due to New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and New York State Department of Labor.
Additionally, the brothers have charges pending against them in East Hampton Justice Court for allegedly turning the electricity off that serves the whole building and illegally entering the Kenny home on the evening of January 7, 2023. They allegedly removed items belonging to the Kenny family in trips to and from the residence before the police arrived. After speaking to witnesses and reviewing security cameras, the officers asked Merhdad to leave the residence. Merhdad Yaghoubi refused, showing them a copy of the lease he just happened to have with him after illegally entering the apartment four hours earlier. At some point after being asked to leave and refusing again, he and his brother scuffled with the police. Merhdad is clearly visible through a window at the residence showing off his boxing skills while trying to evade being cuffed. These criminal charges are scheduled to be heard in East Hampton Justice Court on April 24, 2025.
Because the Yaghoubi’s are still in possession of the restaurant until March 5, 2025- the Kennys have been advised not to touch or replace the tattered American flag flying on the pole outside the restaurant. It was put up by “Mario” and therefore belongs to him.
