RAD Diversified REIT Co-Founder Indicted for Submitting False Information During the Purchase of his $1.6 Million House

Tampa, Florida - Brandon Dutch Mendenhall (46, Brandon, FL) has been charged by indictment with one count of mail fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Mendenhall that the United States intends to forfeit a house, which is alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to the indictment, Mendenhall operated RAD Diversified REIT and other investment funds that solicited individuals to invest in real estate properties through these entities. Beginning in November 2021, Mendenhall applied for a home mortgage with Lender 1 for the purchase of his personal residence. During the mortgage application process, Mendenhall over-inflated his personal income and represented to the lender that the business operating accounts for some of his investment funds were his personal income because he was the owner of these businesses. This information was material to the lender's decision regarding whether the lender would approve and fund the $1.2 million mortgage loan Mendenhall was seeking. As a result of the material misrepresentations made by Mendenhall, Mendenhall caused the mortgage closing documents to be sent by mail to a title company located in the Middle District of Florida.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation - Bureau of Financial Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor - Employee Benefits Security Administration. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Merrilyn Hoenemeyer.

If you have invested money with RAD Diversified, please consider visiting forms.fbi.gov/RADDiversifiedVictimLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. to complete a voluntary questionnaire hosted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Please direct questions regarding the questionnaire to [email protected].