Feds Arrest Newport Beach Financier for Alleged Bank Fraud

An Orange County financier has been arrested by federal agents on accusations of bank fraud tied to loans secured by real estate.

Mahender Makhijani was arrested on Wednesday at his mansion at 57 Montecito Drive in Newport Beach’s tony Corona del Mar neighborhood, the California Post reported. Authorities reportedly breached the property — which Redfin valued at nearly $7.7 million — with guns drawn before arresting the pajama-clad Makhijani.

Makhijani controls Newport Beach-based Cantor Group V LLC, which had a lending relationship with an unnamed bank, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. As part of the two entities’ agreement, the bank advanced nearly $100 million to Cantor in order for Cantor to originate or buy loans secured by real estate. Once those deals were executed, Cantor was required to pledge the loans it secured and the associated collateral to the bank and pay back the financial institution from the loans’ proceeds.

Under the agreement, the bank would be first in line to foreclose on properties if the loan’s borrower fell into default. Authorities claim that from September 2024 to April 2025, Makhijani falsified title insurance policies to make them state that Cantor was in the first lien position for certain real estate properties serving as collateral, when in reality, other creditors were ahead of Cantor. Makhijani or an associate allegedly edited them in Adobe and then changed or removed the metadata by printing out the altered title policies before scanning them, according to federal authorities.

Then, Makhijani reportedly ordered his employee at the time to submit the fraudulent title insurance policies to the bank. The bank used that incorrect information when making its lending decisions to Cantor. If it had known the reality of the situation, the bank would have considered Cantor to be in default and would demand full and immediate repayment of nearly $100 million, according to authorities.

While the alleged fraud was happening, Makhijani reportedly lived a lavish lifestyle, driving around town in luxury cars including a Bentley, Porsche and Mercedes G-Wagon, according to the California Post. The Post also cited witnesses who alleged Makhijani would host parties with drugs and sex workers, invite bank employees and later blackmail them for participating.

The bank filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court in connection to the alleged fraud in August.

Wednesday’s arrest comes weeks after Makhijani was found liable for fraud, breach of contract, forcible entry and detainer related to a joint venture that took control of numerous commercial properties previously owned by Laguna Beach businessman Mohammad Honarkar and his company 4G Wireless. The settlement worked out to more than $1.3 billion, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Makhijani is expected to make his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on June 10. If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

— Chris Malone Méndez