Real estate Ponzi schemer Robert Shapiro’s Woodbridge trust sells LA properties
Four luxury residences and one commercial building were sold for a total of $69.1M
A company related to Robert Shapiro -- who was convicted of running a $1.3 billion Ponzi scheme -- has started selling its Los Angeles properties, according to a new report.
Woodbridge Liquidation Trust sold five properties in four transactions last month, BisNow reported Monday, citing documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The four sales totaled $69.1 million, the documents showed. However, the SEC did not say how much each individual transaction cost or who the buyers were.
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The properties that were sold included four luxury residences in Beverly Hills and a commercial office building in Los Angeles, according to BisNow.
The liquidation trust and another entity were created as part of a settlement with federal authorities last year.
The entities own the properties of Woodbridge Group of Cos. -- founded by Shapiro -- and will sell the properties in order to give money back to defrauded investors, BisNow reported.
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Shapiro, who founded Woodbridge, was charged with running a Ponzi scheme from July 2012 to December 2017, along with former Woodbridge Directors of Investments Dane Roseman and Ivan Acevedo.
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The three men were arrested and charged in April last year.
In August, Shapiro pleaded guilty, but Roseman and Acevedo have pleaded not guilty. In October, Shapiro was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Shapiro’s real estate Ponzi scheme affected more than 7,000 investors and retirees, according to a report from Bloomberg in October.
The website reported that Shapiro was accused of using investor money to buy luxury homes, artwork, wine and personal travel.