CINCINNATI — Two Israeli owners of a real estate investment company have been indicted in a $50 million bank fraud conspiracy involving apartment buildings in the Cincinnati area.
Federal prosecutors allege Stanislav “Stas” Grinberg and Peter Gizunterman, along with two title company employees, “double-pledged” properties to secure multiple loans while concealing information from lenders and investors.
Grinberg and Gizunterman formed Vision & Beyond, LLC in 2019 to purchase roughly 100 apartment and family properties in neighborhoods including Downtown, Avondale, and Mount Airy. They allegedly obtained refinancing for these properties but failed to use the funds to pay off existing loans and mortgages.
Prosecutors say the defendants falsified financial and closing documents, removed mortgages from title commitments, and diverted funds. In December 2022, they allegedly received two loans totaling more than $36 million for 60 Cincinnati-area properties but failed to pay off $17.2 million in prior mortgages, instead diverting over $13 million to Vision & Beyond and a related title company.
By 2024, the company abandoned over 70 properties, many of which went into foreclosure. The Kirby Avenue Apartments in Mount Airy were declared a public nuisance, giving the city authority to force repairs.
Grinberg has been held at the Butler County Jail since April after his arrest in Texas, while Gizunterman was not in custody as of Jan. 14. Both face charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, making false statements, and money laundering.
Officials also noted a similar scheme in 2023 involving four apartment complexes in Lexington, Kentucky.
