Icon Equity Group allegedly duped investors into funding a quartet of uncompleted luxury home, condominium and restaurant projects in Broward and Palm Beach counties, according to a recent lawsuit.
Three entities sued Delray Beach-based Icon Equity, seven affiliates and the firm’s principals Marc Shulman and Anthony Shafer in Palm Beach Circuit Court on Oct. 28, court records show. Seeking repayment of $2.5 million, the plaintiffs allege Shulman and Shafer engaged in a fraudulent scheme to woo the investors, the complaint states.
Two of the plaintiffs, 1PO Bundle and Deerfield Group USA, are managed by Steven Zakharyayev in Marlboro, New Jersey, and Edmont Krkuti in Manalapan, New Jersey, respectively. The third plaintiff is a Delaware-based corporation.
Shulman and Shafer did not respond to emails requesting comment.
“A lot of people would kill to have these properties and develop on them because the properties are in fairly well known spots,” said Christian Waugh, the plaintiffs’ attorney. “For [Icon Equity] having failed to do so is really a mystery.”
The lawsuit alleges the investors provided equity for a luxury home development in Boca Raton; a stalled Delray Beach restaurant project that is facing foreclosure; a vacant lot in Deerfield Beach slated for a planned eight-unit condominium; and Icon Palm Beach Shores, a recently completed 15-unit condominium in Palm Beach.
The investors also filed a lis pendens claiming title to the land tied to the four projects, which could hinder closings at Icon Palm Beach Shores. In a separate case, a lender has a pending foreclosure lawsuit against the Icon Equity affiliate that owns the restaurant project. The complaint, filed in Palm Beach Circuit Court in July, alleges Icon Equity defaulted on a $7.9 million mortgage.
Shulman and Shafer allegedly failed to pay profit distributions totaling roughly $500,000, according to four separate agreements with the investors, the investors’ lawsuit states. The duo allegedly produced and distributed marketing materials and pitches that contained false statements, the complaint alleges. The lawsuit is seeking damages that includes $2 million in initial equity the investors put in, plus the profit distributions.
The investors allege that Shulman and Shafer knew their money would not be used for construction of the projects. Instead, they allegedly used the funds to cover expenses, pay off previous investors and bankroll their lavish lifestyles, the lawsuit states. On social media, Shulman and Shafer allegedly posted photos of themselves in luxury cars and in private jets, the investors alleged.
On his Instagram account, Shafer posted several images in 2022 of two exotic automobiles, a McLaren and an Audi R8, with custom paint jobs featuring Icon Equity’s script logo. The same year, Shulman posted a photo of a convertible Bentley next to a private jet with the caption, “How we roll.”
The pair allegedly agreed to pay the investors between 3 percent to 8 percent profit distributions. The developers allegedly defaulted on the agreements by failing to make payments that were due in June and July, the complaint states.
“It’s a classic example of people taking money and spending it on themselves instead of what they agreed to do with it,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Waugh. “South Florida is no stranger to these types of transactions.”