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Ex-mayor charged with fraud over North Miami real estate deal
Former North Miami Beach mayor allegedly took $150k of investor's money for his own use
A former North Miami Beach mayor is back in the hot seat after his alleged role in a failed real estate investment.
Ex-mayor Myron Rosner, who pleaded guilty to breaking campaign rules in 2012, was just charged with securities fraud, sale of an unregistered security, sale of security by an unregistered dealer and grand theft by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, according to a release.
The state attorney’s office found that Rosner allegedly swindled an investor on a real estate deal in North Miami, also in 2012. Rosner allegedly took a $150,000 investment from Dr. David Rosenbaum, an investor in a previous development, and used most of the money, $86,700, to pay his and his wife’s mortgage, $10,000 to his construction company, Siz Construction, and $30,000 in personal expenses to the company.
The former mayor led a limited partnership, Retail 135 LLC, that was created to develop the 2.2-acre site along Northeast 135th Street and First Court, according to documents from the state attorney’s office. Rosenbaum was made one of the 10 planned limited partners, but Rosner failed to secure additional investors and discovered sewage-related “issues” with the land.
The investigation found that Rosner tried to sell the investment package as a self-storage development with four or five stories of retail on the bottom. His goal was to raise $3 million from 10 partners.
The land was eventually sold in 2015, and Rosenbaum did not receive any of the proceeds.
A number of investors and developers have been picking up land in North Miami. Turnberry Associates and LeFrak plan to develop a 183-acre site at 15045 Biscayne Boulevard into a mixed-use, master-planned community called SoLēMia.
A Chinatown has also been proposed for the city of North Miami.