TAMPA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0The U.S. Attorney and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Tampa are looking to the public for help to identify possible victims of a major real estate fraud scheme.<\/p>\n
On Monday, federal prosecutors announced the indictment<\/a> of Brandon Mendenhall on mail fraud charges, but federal officials say this is just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n Investigators said the 46-year-old Brandon man was caught over-inflating his personal income while applying for a $1.2 million mortgage, which prosecutors say was fraud. He had his first appearance in federal court Monday.<\/p>\n But the FBI isn’t done investigating<\/a> Mendenhall. He ran several real estate investment trusts, according to prosecutors, who say he solicited investors in properties by falsely promising high returns.<\/p>\n Federal officials are looking for more of Mendenhall\u2019s victims to help their case against him.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can always be helped and assisted by someone coming forward to say, ‘I invested in this particular REIT \u2014 real estate investment trust \u2014 I invested this amount, this is what was told to me, this is the documentation I received,’\u201d said Gregory Kehoe, U.S. attorney for the middle district of Florida.<\/p>\n Anyone who may have invested in any one of Mendenhall’s companies, is asked to reach out to the FBI at the link or email below.<\/p>\n