Miami Real Estate Developer Indicted for $85 Million Fraud Scheme
A Miami real estate developer has been indicted in federal court for orchestrating an $85 million fraud scheme, failing to pay millions in taxes, and lying to financial institutions to obtain funds to purchase a luxury yacht.
According to court documents, Rishi Kapoor was the CEO 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.
Kapoor is accused of raising approximately $85 million from investors, but most of the real estate projects he promoted 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 residence in Cocoplum.
The indictment alleges that Kapoor 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. In reality, he only contributed roughly half that amount.
Kapoor also allegedly deceived escrow agents to secure the release of pre-construction condominium deposits and then misappropriated those funds for personal expenses unrelated to the developments, which were never built.
Kapoor is also charged with withholding payroll taxes from Location Ventures employees but failing to remit those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. Instead, Kapoor allegedly diverted more than $2 million from company accounts for his personal benefit. The indictment further alleges that Kapoor failed to pay his own personal taxes from 2019 through 2023, despite earning more than $2.8 million in income in 2022 and 2023 alone.
Furthermore, 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 purchase of the yacht.
The indictment charges Kapoor with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit offenses against and to defraud the federal government, 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 a 2.5-carat platinum ring.
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 US, 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 US Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a separate civil action against Kapoor.
