A federal grand jury has indicted four individuals and a real estate investment company in connection with an alleged $50 million bank fraud conspiracy. The scheme reportedly involved properties in the Greater Cincinnati area and Lexington, Kentucky.
The indictment names Vision & Beyond Group LLC (V&B), its co-owners Stanislav Grinberg and Peter Gizunterman, and two real estate closing and title company employees, Keya Hamilton and Kelly West. They face multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering.
Key Takeaways
- Four individuals and one real estate company, Vision & Beyond Group LLC, have been indicted by a federal grand jury.
- The charges are linked to an alleged bank fraud conspiracy totaling approximately $50 million.
- The scheme involved refinancing multi-family properties in Cincinnati and Lexington without paying off the original mortgages.
- The defendants face charges of bank fraud, conspiracy, making false statements, and money laundering.
Details of the Federal Indictment
The Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging Stanislav Grinberg and Peter Gizunterman, the co-owners of V&B, with orchestrating a complex financial scheme. They are joined by Keya Hamilton and Kelly West, who allegedly used their positions at a title company to facilitate the fraudulent activities.
According to federal officials, Grinberg and Gizunterman established V&B in 2019 with the goal of acquiring and renovating multi-unit apartment buildings and other properties for rental income. The portfolio included over 100 properties, with a significant number located in Greater Cincinnati.
The indictment alleges that the four defendants conspired to defraud financial institutions by obtaining new loans on properties while failing to settle the existing debts associated with them.
How the Alleged Scheme Worked
The core of the alleged conspiracy involved refinancing properties to access capital. However, instead of using the new loan funds to pay off the prior mortgages as required, the defendants are accused of diverting the money for other purposes.
To achieve this, the indictment claims the group falsified financial paperwork, altered official closing documents, and improperly removed mortgage holders from title commitments. This created the false appearance that the properties were unencumbered, allowing new loans to be approved under fraudulent pretenses.
Understanding Refinancing Fraud
In a standard real estate transaction, when a property is refinanced, the funds from the new loan are first used to pay off the old mortgage completely. Only after the original lender is paid does the property owner receive any remaining cash. The alleged scheme bypassed this critical step, leaving multiple unpaid loans on the same properties.
The Cincinnati Transaction
Federal officials provided a specific example from December 2022. Grinberg and Gizunterman reportedly secured two loans totaling over $36 million for a portfolio of 60 multi-family properties in the Cincinnati area.
The terms of these loans required that 30 specific prior mortgages be paid off at closing. However, the indictment alleges that 20 of these mortgages, valued at $17.2 million, were never settled.
Instead of paying off the old debts, the funds were allegedly redirected. More than $273,000 was paid directly to Keya Hamilton, nearly $7 million went to a title company she controlled, and over $6.2 million was deposited into V&B's own account.
Expansion into Kentucky
The alleged activities were not confined to Ohio. The Department of Justice stated that the co-conspirators engaged in a similar scheme in 2023 involving four apartment complexes in Lexington, Kentucky. In that instance, loans totaling $24.6 million were obtained under allegedly fraudulent conditions.
Charges and Legal Consequences
The indictment brings forward serious federal charges against all four individuals and the V&B business entity. These charges outline a coordinated effort to deceive lenders on a massive scale.
The specific counts listed in the indictment are:
- Conspiring to commit bank fraud
- Bank fraud
- Making false statements to a financial institution
- Money laundering
These offenses carry significant potential penalties, including lengthy prison sentences and substantial financial restitution if the defendants are convicted. The case highlights the federal government's focus on prosecuting complex white-collar crimes that impact the integrity of the financial and real estate markets.
The investigation involves multiple federal agencies, and the legal proceedings are expected to unfold in federal court in the coming months. The case will scrutinize the actions of the real estate investors and the title agents who allegedly enabled the multi-million dollar fraud.
