Overview
- Federal agents arrested Mahender Makhijani at his Corona del Mar home on Wednesday in a criminal complaint that accuses him of defrauding a bank of nearly $100 million.
- The complaint alleges Makhijani controlled Cantor Group V LLC and between September 2024 and April 2025 falsified title insurance policies to make loans appear to hold first‑lien priority.
- Prosecutors say Makhijani and a subordinate doctored documents using Adobe, altered or removed metadata, and printed and rescanned files while providing misleading spreadsheets and explanations to the lender.
- Court filings and witness statements describe a pattern of threats, blackmail and the use of armed associates to intimidate employees and rivals, allegations that feed both the criminal case and related civil disputes.
- An arbitrator awarded about $1.34 billion to rival Mohammad Honarkar in May and prosecutors say the allegedly misappropriated funds and assets have not been fully traced so asset recovery and further prosecution are ongoing.