A Miami federal grand jury is investigating South Florida’s preeminent developer of affordable housing, the Carlisle Group, on accusations of fraud, the Miami Herald reported.
The company is suspected of padding construction costs to boost tax subsidies, the Herald said, swindling the U.S. government out of millions of dollars in low interest loans used to finance construction of affordable housing in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The grand jury is focusing on two of Carlisle’s chief executive officers, Matthew S. Greer and retired CEO and founder Lloyd J. Boggio, as well as a general contractor Michael K. Runyan, the Herald said, citing a subpoena it obtained.
The investigation began in 2011 when two Carlisle senior executives quit and became whistleblowers for the feds, cutting deals with the Internal Revenue Service, FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office, the paper reported.
The for-profit Carlisle Group, the third-largest affordable-housing developer in the U.S., has received accolades for helping people live in well-designed apartment buildings they otherwise could never have afforded, the Herald said.
“Carlisle intends to cooperate fully with this investigation and looks forward to a speedy resolution so it can get back to helping provide affordable housing for Miami’s neediest,” company lawyer Jeff Marcus said in a statement Saturday. “The company is proud of its track record, which includes housing over 13,000 low income residents, including working families, the elderly, youth aging out of foster care, and the formerly homeless.” [Miami Herald] –Emily Schmall