Rishi Kapoor admitted that he stole tens of millions of dollars from real estate investors when he pleaded guilty last month in Miami federal court, but he also pledged to pay them back every penny, saying he would make it his “life’s work.”
The once-rising developer’s solemn promise is not likely to be fulfilled if court records in his federal criminal case and a parallel Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit are any indication.
Prosecutors say Kapoor, who is the former CEO of Location Ventures and URBIN companies and had ties to mayors in Miami and Coral Gables, owes at least $70 million in restitution to over 50 investors in his South Florida residential projects. But the investors will be lucky to recover a small fraction of that amount because of outstanding debts to secured creditors, misappropriated funds and other costs decreasing the net proceeds, according to lawyers and others familiar with Kapoor’s cases…