Fashion Square Mall, which is currently facing foreclosure and bankruptcy, filed a new lawsuit accusing its lender, The Bancorp, of fraud, conspiracy and extortion, the Orlando Sentinel reported on Friday. Among the accusations in the new suit is a claim that the bank was diverting rental payments from mall tenants to pay off other bad loans, and that the bank failed to pay taxes from the mall revenue as required. “Bancorp cannot account for the $3.69 million that it was required” to pay for real estate taxes, the lawsuit states. The bank filed to foreclose on the mall on Jan. 4, saying the mall had stopped making payments on loans from the bank of $42.2 million. Two days later, the mall filed its own bankruptcy petition, which halts the foreclosure. Fashion Square is owned by Scott Fish, through his company UP-Fieldgate US Investments-Fashion Square, LLC. The mall remains open, UP-Fieldgate said in a statement. UP-Fieldgate is an affiliate of UP Development, the company operating the mall.
