Kapoor and the accused defendant companies purportedly financed their enterprise by presenting “passive investment chances” in Location Ventures and Urbin, alongside other initiatives. The SEC disagrees and indicates that this claim is false, and that Kapoor gave investors pro forma budgets with devalued costs that showed higher returns while suppressing information on the real costs. He ordered his employees “to revise or remove financial data from reports and meeting minutes, and, in some instances, continued to use the pro formas to raise additional capital,” according to the complaint.
Kapoor allegedly persuaded individuals to invest by falsely claiming that he and his associate had made a $13 million investment in Location Ventures via another defendant, Patriots United LLC. This company is one of the many subsidiaries and is purportedly owned by Kapoor and various members of his family, as stated in the complaint.
Investors put millions into Kapoor’s residential projects in and around Miami Beach, Coconut Grove, and Coral Gables. Kapoor also allegedly misled these investors about the anticipated returns, his compensation, and misappropriated millions in investor funds, and made material misstatements about the different subsidiaries to hide deficits from investors. The petition also describes Kapoor’s many expenditures, which included:
- A new 68.7-foot 2023 Princess Y72 yacht, for $5 million
- A dock at the Cocoplum Yacht club for $695,000
- Monthly services of a private chef for $10,000 a month
- Lease on a 2020 McLaren 600LT Spider sports car
The order requires Kapoor to provide the court with “sworn accounting” of all assets, properties, and accounts, including includes a $6 million waterfront home in Cocoplum that is facing foreclosure.
Miami Investment Fraud Allegations
Separately, the FBI is conducting a criminal investigation of Kapoor following allegations that he paid Miami Mayor Francis Suarez $10,000 a month in “consultancy fees” since 2021. The payments were made by LV for a mixed-use project in Coconut Grove. The FBI is looking into whether these consultancy payments were, in fact, bribes in exchange for permits and other favors related to the project.
Both the SEC and FBI investigations follow stories by the Miami Herald that exposed the relationship between the two men. The story indicated that Suarez’s office helped Kapoor overcome an obstacle with permitting for the $70m Coconut Grove project. Both have denied any wrongdoing and indicated that the relationship was a beneficial business arrangement for both parties. However, the extent of their business relationship is uncertain and unknown.
Additionally, The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and the State Attorney’s Office have also begun their own investigations into the matter. The investigations come as Suarez was preparing for a possible presidential campaign and Kapoor is seeking to expand his involvement in multiple real estate projects in South Florida.
Did You Invest With Rishi Kapoor?
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