Three real estate investors, Fredrick Schulman, Chaim “Eli” Puretz, and Moshe “Mark” Silber, have pleaded guilty to engaging in a multi-year conspiracy to fraudulently obtain loans totaling $119 million. The investors deceived lenders into issuing a $74 million loan and a $45 million loan while acquiring multifamily properties. Schulman and Puretz admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Silber had already pleaded guilty earlier.
Between 2018 and 2020, the trio conspired with others to mislead lenders and Fannie Mae into funding loans for multifamily properties. They provided falsified documents, including inflated purchase contracts, to support their fraudulent schemes. Schulman and Silber were managing members of Rhodium Capital Advisors, involved in the acquisition of the Williamsburg of Cincinnati apartment complex, while Puretz owned commercial property Troy Technology Park in Michigan.
In March 2019, they acquired Williamsburg of Cincinnati for $70 million, but utilized a stolen identity to present a fraudulent purchase contract for $95.85 million. They executed two closings, one for the true sales price and another for the inflated amount, resulting in a $74.25 million loan. Similarly, in September 2020, Puretz and his co-conspirators acquired Troy Technology Park for $42.7 million but submitted false documentation to support an inflated purchase price of $70 million.
The investors are scheduled for sentencing on December 3 and each faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The investigation is being handled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the District of New Jersey handling the case.
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