Former Forsyth County resident sentenced to 4 years for defrauding aged German land investor

A assets developer earlier tied to much more than 1,700 acres of land in north Forsyth County has been sentenced to federal jail for fraud.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Place of work Northern District of Ga, Louis Beria, 64, of Milton was recently sentenced to 4 many years, three months in prison for defrauding a corporation and its elderly proprietor, German billionaire and entrepreneur Werner Wicker, who Beria beforehand managed an condominium intricate for and served as an advisor.

“The victim dependable Beria to take care of his property but was betrayed when the defendant diverted around $1.6 million for his very own advantage,” Performing U.S. Lawyer Kurt R. Erskine stated in a information release.  “With elder fraud regretably on the rise, it continues to be a precedence for our place of work.”

Erskine said in the release the Wicker hired Beria decades earlier soon after paying for house in north Georgia.

“Beria stole the tricky-gained funds of an trader who trustworthy him to regulate his homes,” claimed Chris Hacker, exclusive agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, in the release. “No make a difference how clever the financial investment scam is, the FBI will come across and maintain accountable any one who preys on unsuspecting investors.”

Wicker employed Beria to control an apartment complicated he owned in Atlanta. While running that condominium intricate, Beria himself owned a individual apartment sophisticated in Atlanta.  Beria hired a corporation to do design work on the elaborate he owned but utilised cash from the victim’s apartment intricate to spend for it.  

“Ultimately, Beria stole $1,621,979 and lied to the target about how he utilised this cash,” the release said.

Beria pled guilty to the costs in November 2020 and was ordered to repay the complete quantity to Wicker. His jail sentence will be followed by 3 yrs of supervised launch.

The case was investigated by the FBI.

In accordance to a Feb. 19, 2019 tale by the Forsyth County Information, the civil lawsuit, Wicker v. Paramatma, which was filed in district court on Jan. 25 of that yr and lawyers alleged that Beria, then explained as a resident of Forsyth County, and Prabhu Paramatma, of India, conspired together and misappropriated or fraudulently attained millions of pounds from Wicker all through a sequence of large-parcel land investments produced in Forsyth County in 2014.

The complaint alleges that between 2014 and 2018, Beria and Paramatma “engaged in a sample of racketeering activity” by brokering the sale of about 1,800 acres of land in north Forsyth for Wicker, though allegedly misrepresenting the prices compensated and conspiring to acquire Wicker’s belongings in various techniques.

In June 2015, Wicker’s land investments extended out of Forsyth County, when he ordered the Westminster Sq. Apartments in Marietta by the defendants for $43,500,000 under a new business identify, Wicker LLC, the grievance states.

According to Cobb County tax data, Westminster Square Flats is now owned by SAKS Administration and Associates LLC. The assets was ordered by Wicker LLC in June 2015, and was offered to Saks Management and Associates LLC in July 2017 for $26.7 million.

In the criticism, SAKS Management and Associates LLC is mentioned as a defendant and is explained as “Beria’s organization,” however no rationalization is offered for how Beria is involved with the firm.

On Feb. 4, 2019, U.S. District Courtroom Choose Richard W. Tale, who listened to the situation, directed lawyers representing the parties to give names of individuals that would oversee Wicker LLC in the course of litigation.

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