The federal investigation of Twin Cities real estate developer Ned Abdul appears to include John Barlow, Abdul's business partner in the Epic and Karma nightclubs.
Federal agents raided the homes and business offices of both men Tuesday, with discoveries leading them to execute a fifth search warrant later in the day at a bank, a source close to the investigation said. No charges have been filed.
Abdul, 41, lives in Deephaven, and his company, Swervo Development Corp., has its headquarters in the Butler North building near Target Field in Minneapolis. Barlow, 49, lives in a Warehouse District loft, and his contracting company, Blueprint Builders, is based above the Epic nightclub on the fifth floor of 508 1st Av. N.
In an interview Wednesday, Barlow said that the raids had nothing to do with the nightspots but that he didn't have details.
"This has to do with a business deal Ned was involved with through Swervo Development," Barlow said. "It has nothing to do with the nightclub businesses that we are running whatsoever."
Abdul, who also goes by Nedal Abul-Hajj, isn't talking about the situation.
Minneapolis lawyer Bill Mauzy, Abdul's lawyer, accused the agents from the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Office of taking "a real shotgun approach."
"They have hauled out literally hundreds of files and have not informed us of the focus of the investigation," he said. "I think there is no reason to believe there was criminal activity at these businesses."
