West Fresno farmland in Assemis’ defaulted loans case sold for estimated $14M
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- 330-acre Mission Ranch in west Fresno, previously owned by Assemis, sold for about $14M.
- Sale follows lawsuits over more than $700M in unpaid loans tied to Assemi farm firms.
- Buyer Running Stallion Ranch LLC incorporated by Fresno jeweler Nader Malakan.
About 330 acres of agricultural land in southwest Fresno previously controlled by the Assemi family — known for farming and housing construction through the Granville Homes firm — has been sold for an estimated $14 million to a Fresno area jeweler.
Fresno County property records show the sale of the massive piece of land, known as Mission Ranch, was made Jan. 9 through court-appointed receiver Lance Miller.
The land is part of the thousands of acres across the central San Joaquin Valley that will be sold as part of multiple breach of contract lawsuits filed by lenders against the Assemis.
At one time, the Assemi brothers, Farid, Farshid and Darius, were among the largest nut growers in the region. But court documents reveal their once-thriving companies, Maricopa Orchards and Touchstone Pistachio Company, began struggling after a failed expansion attempt and other factors.
More than $700 million in loans went unpaid, prompting several major lenders to take legal action to take control of the farming operation. Miller, the court-appointed receiver, is overseeing the sale of the Assemis’ farmland.
A Fresno County deed shows the Mission Ranch land was purchased by Running Stallion Ranch LLC, which was incorporated in late December by Nader Malakan, CEO of Fresno’s Malakan Diamond Company.
Malakan did not respond to The Fresno Bee’s request for comment Tuesday about the sale. Neither did Darius Assemi, the president and now sole-owner Granville Homes, which publicly pushed for Mission Ranch to become farmland in 2013.
But federal court documents filed in December show the Assemis’ farming LLCs and the plaintiff, Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, consented to the then-proposed sale of the land.
Mission Ranch once meant for southwest housing, drew interest from Donald Trump
Mission Ranch is located in southwest Fresno and roughly bound by Church, Whitesbridge, Marks and Hughes avenues. Before the Assemi family started buying the land, it was intended to be part of a large golf course and housing development called Running Horse. That plan failed and the developers behind it were accused of defrauding investors.
The land languished but drew interest from other developers, including now-President Donald Trump, but none decided to invest.
Then the Assemis started buying the residentially-zoned land in 2013, and successfully pushed for the Fresno City Council that year to amend the city’s land code to allow large-scale commercial farming on land zoned for homes.
Darius Assemi said then the land would be farmed until the market was ready for home construction. But it was listed for sale online after the Assemi’s financial troubles began.
Mission Ranch was advertised as an opportunity to continue farming certified organic almonds — though also noted were its residential zoning and location within a Federal Opportunity Zone, which is a designation for economically depressed areas where investors can access tax incentives.
The online listing for Mission Ranch from Pearson Realty carried a $16.5 million asking price. But Fresno County records show a transfer tax amount of $15,400 for the recent sale, indicating the new buyer might have paid an estimated $14 million for the land.
This story has been updated to clarify that Granville Homes today is owned wholly by Darius Assemi.
This story was originally published January 27, 2026 at 6:26 PM.
