Four people behind a real estate investment company that abandoned dozens of properties and hundreds of renters in Greater Cincinnati have been indicted on federal fraud charges.
Vision and Beyond founders Stas Grinberg and Peter Gizunterman face one charge each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and making false statements. They also face multiple charges of money laundering.
The indictment alleges Grinberg and Gizunterman mortgaged some 60 properties they had convinced investors to purchase for roughly $36 million. The funds from those mortgages were supposed to go to paying off previous loans. But instead, 20 of those mortgages were not paid off. Some $7 million went to a title company controlled by Vision and Beyond and a co-conspirator named Keya Hamilton. Another $6.3 million went to a bank account controlled by Vision and Beyond. The company used about $2.7 million to pay off an unrelated loan, according to the indictment.
Separate lawsuits in Hamilton County Courts allege Grinburg and Gizunterman fled the country with millions from the supposed fraud scheme.
The alleged scheme left tenants at the properties without proper maintenance and repairs for months. Renters suffered with animal infestations, collapsing ceilings, severe sewer leaks and other problems.
Two other people, Hamilton and Kelly West, are also named in the indictment as defendants. Hamilton allegedly received $273,000 in the Cincinnati scheme, according to the indictment.
"In order to facilitate the scheme, at times, the co-conspirators falsified documents related to the financing transactions, including closing statements and partial mortgage releases," the indictment reads.
Grinberg and Gizunterman founded Vision and Beyond in 2019 and bought up residential real estate in Cincinnati, Lexington and other cities.
The indictment alleges the two, along with Hamilton and West, engaged in a similar scheme in the latter city. That involved four apartment buildings Vision and Beyond purchased in 2021 with an $8 million loan. They refinanced the properties in 2023 for $24.6 million. Roughly $11 million of that went straight to Vision and Beyond. Hamilton got almost $1 million, according to the indictment, and a closing company Hamilton controlled got another $800,000. Vision and Beyond used about $3.9 million to pay off unrelated properties in Cincinnati.
Federal authorities arrested Grinberg in Houston in March. His indictment was delayed several times due to talks between his attorney and federal authorities. He remains in custody in the Butler County Jail.
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