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A federal indictment unsealed on Friday charged a Florida real estate developer with orchestrating an $85 million fraud scheme, failing to pay millions in taxes, and lying to financial institutions to purchase a luxury yacht.
Rishi Kapoor, 41, of Miami, is charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit offenses against and to defraud the U.S., failure to pay payroll taxes, tax evasion, failure to file tax returns, and bank fraud.
The indictment also includes forfeiture allegations, including a Rolex Daytona watch and 2.5-carat platinum ring.
Kapoor was the chief executive officer of Location Ventures, a Miami-based real estate development company that purported to develop projects in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale.
A view of developer Rishi Kapoor’s slip at the Cocoplum Yacht Club Aug. 14, 2023, in Coral Gables, Fla. The current location of his yacht is unknown. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Court documents allege Kapoor raised roughly $85 million from investors, but most of the promised real estate projects were never built.
Despite being entitled to a capped salary of $400,000 plus certain fees, Kapoor diverted substantially more funds for personal use, including the purchase of a 68-foot yacht and a house in Cocoplum, according to court documents.
Kapoor allegedly misrepresented to investors the amount of his personal financial contribution to Location Ventures, claiming he had invested $13 million alongside his business partner and family when, in reality, he contributed roughly half that amount.
The developer could spend decades in prison if convicted. (iStock)
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He is also accused of deceiving escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condominium deposits and then misappropriating those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments.
As a result, condominium projects in Coconut Grove and Miami Beach were never built.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said Kapoor withheld payroll taxes from employees, but failed to turn that money over to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), “effectively stealing from his own employees.”
A real estate developer is accused of scamming investors out of millions. (iStock)
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Court documents allege Kapoor diverted more than $2 million from company accounts for his personal benefit, and failed to pay his own personal taxes from 2019 through 2023, despite earning more than $2.8 million in income in 2022 and 2023.
Kapoor is also charged with falsifying bank statements to inflate his account balances, failing to disclose a significant mortgage on his Cocoplum residence, and misrepresenting that his tax returns had been filed with the IRS — all to obtain more than $9 million in financing.
One bank extended a $5 million line of credit to Location Ventures, while another loaned Kapoor $4.2 million to finance the yacht purchase, according to the indictment.
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If convicted, Kapoor faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud; up to 10 years for money laundering; up to five years for each count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S., failure to pay payroll taxes, tax evasion, and failure to file tax returns; and up to 30 years for each count of bank fraud.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a civil action against Kapoor.
“These are serious allegations that will now be addressed in federal court,” Quiñones wrote in a statement. “The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
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