5 takeaways from The Bee’s deep look at Assemi land sale in west Fresno. What’s next?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Nader Malakan’s LLC bought 330+ acres of land Assemis lost during loan default cases.
- The residentially-zoned acres make up major portion of southwest Fresno’s housing space.
- Malakan has long had business ties to the Assemis, has been involved in their farm LLCs.
A big real estate sale in southwest Fresno last month brought more than 330 acres of space previously owned by the Assemi family — known in the Central Valley for farming and housing construction — under the control of a diamond company CEO.
The sale was significant because the 330-plus acres of farmland are residentially zoned and amount to a huge portion of the space designated for homes in southwest Fresno.
The Assemis and the buyer have repeatedly declined to comment on the massive sale. But The Bee has used property, court and state business records to report about the estimated $14 million transaction, the land’s history of failed development hopes and the new owner’s years-long business relationship with the Assemis.
The following are five key takeaways about the sale of the property known as Mission Ranch.
Assemis lost Mission Ranch during federal court cases
The Assemi family, known in the Central Valley for farming and housing construction, started buying Mission Ranch land in 2013. The family lost the land as lenders have sued its farming companies in federal court over defaulted loans worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The sale of Mission Ranch was made through a receiver appointed by the court to oversee the transfer of Assemi properties as lenders try to recoup what they are owed.
Mission Ranch land has a history of failed development hopes
Two decades ago, the land promised a major residential development. But the developers in that plan were charged with fraud and the ranch became an illegal dumping ground. When the Assemis arrived in 2013, Granville Homes, today owned wholly by Darius Assemi, said its plan was to build homes at Mission Ranch when the market allowed. But the family convinced the City Council to allow it to farm the land in the meantime. The homes were never built.
Mission Ranch bought by diamond company CEO for estimated $14M
The court-appointed receiver in January sold the 330 acres to Running Stallion Ranch LLC, formed in December by Nader Malakan, CEO of the Fresno-based Malakan Diamond Co. State business filings show Malakan is involved in various companies across different industries, including investment and agriculture. The transfer tax amount in the deed for the Mission Ranch purchase indicated he may have spent $14 million for the 330 acres.
New owner is a years-long business associate of Assemis
Malakan has a longstanding business relationship with the Assemi family, being involved in at least two farming companies alongside them. His position at one of the Assemis’ companies, Elevated Ag LLC, has become a point of contention among Assemi family members who have sued each other in state and federal court, both sides alleging fraud. Malakan has been listed in state business filings as a manger of Elevated Ag in recent years.
Malakan silent, but his plans matter to southwest Fresno’s future
The Assemis were allowed to farm Mission Ranch by the 2013 Fresno City Council even though the land is a huge portion of the housing space in southwest Fresno — historically a neglected part of town. Southwest Fresno leaders were convinced in 2013 that the farming would be temporary, and said the community wanted new housing most. In the decade that followed north and east Fresno added thousands of new apartments and houses, while southwest Fresno added fewer new units than every other part of town.
Malakan has repeatedly ignored The Bee’s attempts to reach him, so it’s not clear what he plans to do with the residentially zoned farmland or who else might invest in it. The land was pitched for sale as a federal opportunity zone, which is a designation for economically depressed areas where investors can access tax incentives.
These takeaways were produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous story points reported and written by Fresno Bee journalists. This content was edited by journalists in the newsroom.
This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 5:21 PM.
