Mahender Makhijani is a 44-year-old real estate financier and lawful permanent resident from India who has established a prominent business presence in Southern California. Living in a luxury mansion in the affluent neighborhood of Corona del Mar, Makhijani operated at the highest levels of the Orange County property market. Professionally, he controlled Cantor Group V LLC, a Newport Beach-based firm that specialized in originating and purchasing high-value loans backed by commercial real estate.
The $100 Million Federal Accusations
According to US Department of Justice, Makhijani transitioned from a prominent local businessman to a federal criminal defendant following his arrest by armed federal law enforcement officials. The United States Department of Justice has formally charged him with bank fraud, alleging that he orchestrated a scheme to deceive a federally insured lender, Western Alliance Bancorp, out of nearly $100 million.
Federal prosecutors allege that between September 2024 and April 2025, Makhijani systematically used digital software to alter property title insurance records. By manipulating these documents and erasing their digital metadata, he falsely assured the bank that his company held primary security priority on various properties. In reality, other creditors were ahead of his firm, meaning the bank advanced $100 million based on drastically overvalued collateral.
Civil Liability and Intimidation Claims
Beyond the current federal criminal charges, Makhijani has a history of tumultuous commercial real estate dealings. He and his corporate entities, including Continuum Analytics, recently lost a massive $1.3 billion civil arbitration judgment. The dispute involved broken financing and management agreements tied to properties owned by local businessman Mohammad Honarkar.
US media reports, including accounts in the New York Post, have revealed that Makhijani allegedly utilized extreme personal pressure tactics to maintain control over his commercial rivals. Court documents and associate statements allege that he organized exclusive sex parties to compromise business partners and frequently used aggressive personal threats. If convicted of the federal bank fraud charges in Santa Ana, the California financier faces a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in a US federal prison.
