Miami socialite pleads guilty in designer-handbag scheme, faces sentencing

A Miami socialite on Friday pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges accusing her of bilking a major retailer out of about $135,000 in designer handbags.

Meghana Rajadhyaksha bought 69 handbags by Fendi, Gucci and other famous designer brands but then exchanged knockoffs for them to obtain full refunds from e-commerce retailer T.J. Maxx, according to her plea agreement. She then sold 10 of the actual bags through a consignment outlet in New Jersey, The RealReal — making about $11,000 for herself.

Rajadhyaksha pleaded guilty to three counts of committing mail fraud and one count of selling stolen goods between November 2017 and March 2019. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 25 before U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro.

Her defense attorney, Christopher Lyons, said that as part of her punishment Rajadhyaksha, 39, must reimburse T.J. Maxx for its losses. She also faces possible prison time.

The charges don’t say where Rajadhyaksha obtained the counterfeit handbags to exchange for the original ones, but sources familiar with the Secret Service case say she bought those knockoffs online, too.

Rajadhyaksha — who was often photographed with a designer handbag at fund-raising events at Vizcaya, the Faena Forum and the Pérez Art Museum Miami — spent one night in a federal lockup after being arrested in early April at her waterfront home in Coral Gables. She was released on a $250,000 bond.

Rajadhyaksha, whose husband, Amar Dilip Rajadhyaksha, is an orthopedic surgeon, regularly hobnobbed with the high-society crowd in Miami. Last June, she attended the birthday luncheon of the Miami Herald’s former “Queen of the Night” columnist, publicist Tara Solomon, at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach..

This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 4:13 PM.