The father of a “Property Wars” reality TV star is facing charges of defrauding banks in connection to his acquisitions of luxury condos in Miami Beach and New York City.
The son, Scott Menaged, was sentenced in late 2017 to 17 years in prison for leading fraud schemes that defrauded investors of more than $30 million, and he had previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
Now his father, Joseph Menaged of Miami Beach, has been indicted on charges of bank fraud, transactional money laundering, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and a forfeiture allegation, according to the Miami Herald. Prosecutors said that the father-son duo falsified tax forms and records to explain the transfer of nearly $11.5 million to Joseph from Scott.
Joseph scored mortgage loans from BankUnited and Morgan Stanley totaling more than $6.5 million. In 2015, he purchased two units at the ultra-luxury Faena House for $2.6 million and $5 million, and spent $3.2 million for an apartment in New York City.
Joseph’s attorney told the Miami Herald that his client “vigorously denies that he was engaged in any wrongdoing whatsoever and looks forward to clearing his name in a court of law.”
The indictment does not allege mortgage fraud – Joseph had been approved and was making monthly payments – but a grand jury found that he and his accountant created and backdated fraudulent documents to create a paper trail for the $11.5 million that his son had transferred to him.
Between 2013 and 2016, Scott Menaged secured more than 2,700 mortgages for nearly $734.5 million, the majority of which were phony real estate deals involving straw buyers, according to a release. He was later ordered to pay $33.5 million in restitution to the victims.
Scott was on Discovery Channel’s “Property Wars” show between 2012 and 2013, which followed investors who bid on foreclosed homes without entering the properties first. [Miami Herald] — Katherine Kallergis