A 44-year-old Indian-origin financier, Mahender Makhijani, has been accused of defrauding Western Alliance Bancorp out of nearly $100 million. He allegedly falsified title insurance policies to inflate the value of the properties he pledged to obtain loans against.
Makhijani is also accused of hosting sex parties and using them to put pressure on the attendees, according to a New York Post report.
Arrest and federal charges
The first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, on Wednesday confirmed that Makhijani was arrested. He was detained from his Newport Beach mansion by gun-toting federal agents.
"Mahender Makhijani, 44, a lawful permanent resident from India living in Corona del Mar, was arrested this morning on a federal criminal complaint charging him with defrauding a bank out of nearly $100 million," Essayli posted on X.
Alleged loan fraud scheme
According to his post, Makhijani controlled Cantor Group V LLC, a Newport Beach-based company that had a lending agreement requiring it to pledge only first-lien real estate loans to the victim bank.
Makhijani falsified title policies from September 2024 to April 2025 to make it appear Cantor held first-lien positions when other creditors were ahead. Makhijani and a subordinate forged documents in Adobe, altered metadata, and submitted the falsified records to the victim bank, while also providing misleading explanations during calls and in spreadsheets, Essayli wrote.
Potential prison sentence
If convicted, Makhijani faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
"Our nation’s economy and welfare depend on a healthy banking system. When lenders are deceived, it has downstream effects on consumers and businesses," Essayli wrote, concluding his post.
