Major financial schemes in South Florida

Florida has been at the center of financial fraud. And 2024 was no different.

Misuse of pandemic relief funds. Real estate schemes.

Developers Eric Sheppard and Rishi Kapoor faced accusations, including falsifying loan applications and defrauding investors. Johanna Garcia, infamously dubbed 'Mother Teresa,' led a $190 million Ponzi scheme, misusing investor funds and perpetuating fraud with new entities even after initial shutdowns.

Other cases, such as fraudulent EB-5 visa program manipulations and local law enforcement officers misusing COVID-19 relief programs, underscore both the variety and scale of the schemes.

Here are the details.

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.

Instagram post by developer Rishi Kapoor’s URBIN Condos brand shows Miami Mayor Francis Suarez at the groundbreaking for a project in Coconut Grove. Company records show Kapoor (center right) had been paying Suarez (center left) $10,000 per month as a consultant.

NO. 1: SEC ACCUSES DEVELOPER WHO HAD MIAMI MAYOR ON PAYROLL OF FLEECING MILLIONS FROM INVESTORS

A federal judge froze Rishi Kapoor’s bank accounts, requiring him to provide a “sworn accounting” of his assets. | Published January 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jay Weaver

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony speaks during a news conference at the Broward Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Complex in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe looks on. 17 members of BSO have been charged with PPP fraud. By Amy Beth Bennett

NO. 2: EX-BSO DEPUTY FOUND GUILTY OF RIPPING OFF PANDEMIC LOAN PROGRAM, ONE OF 17 CHARGED IN AGENCY

The BSO deputy school resource officer faces years in prison for fleecing the COVID-19 relief program. | Published March 5, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jay Weaver

NO. 3: INVESTORS IN THE HOTEL BUSINESS OF THIS BROWARD DEVELOPER SAY THEY FACE FINANCIAL RUIN

Once while promoting one of his projects on a TV show, Christian motivational speaker and businessman Rodrigo Azpurua said his company existed to benefit others.“We built a vision based on the need to serve others,” Azpurua said in a morning show interview run by the Christian international Spanish network Enlace. | Published June 7, 2024 | Read Full Story by Antonio Maria Delgado

Eric Sheppard — the first South Florida real estate developer to be charged with COVID-19 loan relief fraud — was granted bail and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Miami federal court on Tuesday. Sheppard, 53, said through his defense lawyers that he “looks forward to clearing his name and being exonerated.”

NO. 4: CARILLON DEVELOPER ERIC SHEPPARD CATCHES BIG BREAK ON POTENTIAL PRISON SENTENCE

Eric Sheppard is best known for renovating the Carillon hotel and spa on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. | Published June 4, 2024 | Read Full Story by Jay Weaver

Lottery ticket worth $2 million sold at gas station in Florida Panhandle. The buyer was from Alabama. By Getty Images | Royalty Free

NO. 5: MIAMI MEN WILL PAY $1.29 MILLION AFTER ALLEGED FRAUD TARGETING MIAMI VENEZUELANS

What the SEC described looks like a Ponzi scheme. | Published October 22, 2024 | Read Full Story by David J. Neal

Five more people have been charged by the SEC in the MJ Capital Funding fraud. By Getty Images | Royalty Free

NO. 6: FIVE MORE POSSIBLE CRONIES OF BROWARD’S ‘MOTHER TERESA’ CHARGED IN HER $196M FRAUD

More charges in the MJ Capital scam. | Published October 2, 2024 | Read Full Story by David J. Neal

Archive By ERIC PAUL ZAMORA/THE FRESNO BEE

NO. 7: A BROWARD WOMAN CALLED HERSELF ‘MOTHER TERESA.’ SHE’S SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS FOR FRAUD

She ran a $190 million Ponzi scheme out of a strip mall. | Published December 4, 2024 | Read Full Story by David J. Neal

This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division.