Inside Indicted CEO Daniel Chu’s Luxury Residential Portfolio

Two federal cases allege a Texas businessman used funds acquired through fraud to amass a nationwide portfolio of luxury homes.

Daniel Chu, founder of the Irving, Texas-based auto lender and dealer Tricolor, bought luxury properties around the country during a seven-year period in which Tricolor allegedly engaged in fraud, according to the federal government’s indictment.

The U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing charges against Chu and other Tricolor executives for double-pledging collateral — pledging assets to support multiple loans. The DOJ filed its indictments against them in December.

Tricolor filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September.

According to the indictment, after lenders confronted Chu about Tricolor’s books last summer, Chu first tried to disguise the company’s fraud and then “turned his attention to extracting millions of dollars from the company.” Among other accusations, the DOJ claims Chu “enriched” himself through fraud and bought “a multimillion-dollar property” in Beverly Hills.

Chu also faces a federal lawsuit and civil conspiracy lawsuit from the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee appointed for Tricolor. The lawsuit accuses Chu of buying “opulent homes” around the country, collectively worth $38 million, with bonuses and pay raises that he squeezed out of Tricolor.

In January, Chu entered a plea of not guilty in the DOJ’s case.

His legal team has also accused the government of violating his Fourth Amendment rights by seizing his property without a warrant.

Here are the residential properties Chu bought and sold during Tricolor’s alleged fraud spree, which the DOJ says lasted from 2018 till the company filed for bankruptcy in 2025.

The Surf Club, Suite 201| Surfside | Florida

In May 2022, Chu bought suite 201 at Four Seasons Residences at the Surf Club, a condo at 9001 Collins Avenue in Surfside, Florida, according to public records. The sale price was about $18 million, according to the bankruptcy court complaint. Florida public records show that an LLC bought the condo for $17.5 million days before conveying it to Chu.

The 5,700-square-foot, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom condo is a corner unit at Surf Club Four Seasons, which has had some of the priciest condo sales in the Miami area in recent years. The property includes a terrace with a private pool overlooking the ocean.

Chu has the condo listed for $24.9 million with Ximena Penuela of Fort Realty, according to Redfin.

4208 Beverly Drive | Highland Park | Dallas | Texas

Chu bought the three-year-old, 6,500-square-foot home in one of Dallas’ most exclusive neighborhoods in March 2023, the same month that the board of Tricolor approved an increased compensation package with a cash bonus of up to $1.5 million, the bankruptcy court complaint alleges. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so the final sale price is unavailable.

Chu listed the home last February and kept it on the market for over a year, eventually dropping the asking price from $11 million to $9 million. The Loop MM Trust bought the home on March 5, public records show.

Litigation complicated the sale of the home. The bankruptcy proceedings led to a lis pendens notice, a document which warns potential buyers of lawsuits involving the property.

4544 Westway Avenue | Highland Park | Dallas | Texas

In December 2024, Chu bought another home in Highland Park. He purchased the 3,520-square-foot house at 4544 Westway Avenue for an undisclosed price. Neither Redfin, Zillow nor Realtor.com display a listing for the home in 2024, so the asking price is also unavailable.

Chu listed the home for $2.3 million the month after buying it, and eventually dropped the price to $2.1 million in October.

The home sold in December on the same day that the bankruptcy court lawsuit was filed, narrowly escaping the lis pendens encumbrance that weighed down Chu’s other Highland Park home. The buyer is Gilbert Aranza, according to public records.

Chu’s daughter Katie Chu, a Compass agent, had the listing.

115 West Bleeker Street | Aspen | Colorado

The bankruptcy trustee claims that Chu executed a purchase agreement for an upcoming ski chalet-style townhome in downtown Aspen in February 2025. Each townhome asked $25 million. Chu terminated the agreement in September, and the seller, Elephant Aspen Residences, kept his $1.8 million deposit, the complaint reads. No deeds on the property were recorded.

The development will include three 5,000-square-foot chalets next to the new White Elephant Hotel, according to the property listing on Redfin. Construction should finish this year, the listing states.

1612 Gilcrest Drive | Beverly Hills | California

In August, days before Tricolor’s bankruptcy, Chu bought an 1,800-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom home at 1612 Gilcrest Drive in Beverly Hills, California for $2.7 million, according to public records. Origin Bank, a Tricolor lender of which Chu was a board member, provided $2.1 million in financing, according to legal documents.

Built in 1971, the home features a covered outdoor patio and commands a clear view of downtown Los Angeles, according to Redfin.