Miami developer charged with $85 million fraud scheme used to fund luxurious yacht and way of life

Date: March 6, 2026

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MIAMI – A federal indictment unsealed at the moment prices a Miami actual property developer with orchestrating an $85 million fraud scheme, failing to pay thousands and thousands in taxes, and mendacity to monetary establishments to acquire funds to buy a luxurious yacht.

According to court docket paperwork, Rishi Kapoor, previously of Miami, was the chief govt officer of Location Ventures, a Miami-based actual property growth firm that presupposed to develop tasks in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, and Fort Lauderdale.

“The indictment alleges an $85 million fraud scheme in which investor funds intended for real estate development were diverted for luxury purchases, including a 68-foot yacht,” mentioned U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “It further alleges that the defendant withheld payroll taxes from employees but failed to turn that money over to the government, effectively stealing from his own employees. These are serious allegations that will now be addressed in federal court. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

As alleged, though Kapoor raised roughly $85 million from traders, many of the promised actual property tasks had been by no means constructed. Despite being entitled to a capped wage of $400,000 plus sure charges, Kapoor diverted considerably extra funds for private use, together with the acquisition of a 68-foot yacht and a residence in Cocoplum.

The indictment alleges that Kapoor misrepresented to traders the quantity of his private monetary contribution to Location Ventures, claiming he had invested $13 million alongside his enterprise accomplice and household when, in actuality, he contributed roughly half that quantity. Kapoor additionally allegedly deceived escrow brokers to safe the discharge of pre-construction condominium deposits after which misappropriated these funds for private bills unrelated to the developments. As a end result, condominium tasks in Coconut Grove and Miami Beach had been by no means constructed.

In addition, Kapoor is charged with withholding payroll taxes from Location Ventures staff however failing to remit these taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Instead, Kapoor allegedly diverted greater than $2 million from firm accounts for his private profit.

The indictment additional alleges that Kapoor didn’t pay his personal private taxes from 2019 by means of 2023, regardless of incomes greater than $2.8 million in revenue in 2022 and 2023 alone.

Kapoor can also be charged with falsifying financial institution statements to inflate his account balances, failing to reveal a big mortgage on his Cocoplum residence, and misrepresenting that his tax returns had been filed with the IRS—all to acquire greater than $9 million in financing. One financial institution prolonged a $5 million line of credit score to Location Ventures, whereas one other loaned Kapoor $4.2 million to finance the yacht buy.

The indictment prices Kapoor with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, cash laundering, conspiracy to commit offenses towards and to defraud the U.S., failure to pay payroll taxes, tax evasion, failure to file tax returns, and financial institution fraud. The indictment additionally contains forfeiture allegations, together with a Rolex Daytona watch and a couple of.5 carat platinum ring.

If convicted, Kapoor faces as much as 20 years in federal jail for every rely of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud; as much as 10 years for cash laundering; as much as 5 years for every rely of conspiracy to commit offenses towards the U.S., failure to pay payroll taxes, tax evasion, and failure to file tax returns; and as much as 30 years for every rely of financial institution fraud.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission additionally filed a civil motion towards Kapoor (Case No. 23-cv-24903).

U.S. Attorney Reding Quinoñes, Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Florida Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Quinoñes recommended the investigative efforts of IRS-CI and FBI Miami.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Young and Daya Nathan are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff is dealing with asset forfeiture.

IRS-CI is the regulation enforcement arm of the IRS, accountable for conducting monetary crime investigations, together with tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, cash laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identification theft and extra. It is the one federal regulation enforcement company with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 area workplaces positioned throughout the U.S. and maintains a global presence by means of attaché posts overseas.