Annamalai Annamalai, 45, also known as Dr. Commander Selvam or Swamiji Sri Siddhar Selvam, claims in the suit members of a rival temple in Atlanta and Gwinnett police Detective Paul Cwalina conspired to defame him and ultimately caused the foreclosure on his Hindu Temple of Georgia last year.
Annamalai in June bought a vacant flea market at 2222 Olive Road in Dayton he plans to use as grounds for the Hindu Temple of Ohio. Last month he paid $525,000 for the former KeyBank building in downtown Dayton. His purchases came less than a year after his Georgia temple filed for bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure.
Annamalai’s attorney, John Scaccia, said the “conspiracy to defame his client” has forced his client to shift operations from Georgia to Dayton.
At the heart of the lawsuit are claims by some Hindus that Annamalai improperly overcharged credit cards for religious services or for services he never rendered. Those claims prompted an investigation by Gwinnett County, which led to charges of theft and practicing medicine without a license. that were dropped for lack of evidence.
Annamalai and Scaccia, according to the lawsuit, accuse Cwalina of coercing alleged victims to make false statements and that Cwalina gave police false statements.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2494 or lsullivan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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