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(Zero Hedge)—A new report is revealing how illegal drug funds have made their way through the commercial real estate market in South Florida “and beyond”, according to Bisnow.
Among examples was Miami’s Sefira Capital, who agreed to forfeit over $29M in 2021 to settle a DEA investigation into money laundering, though it admitted no wrongdoing.
The firm was accused of ignoring red flags about investor funds and was implicated in a DEA sting operation, revealing millions in drug money flowed through its investment fund, Bisnow reports.
The probe included a $63M hotel acquisition near Washington, D.C., and an office building in Fort Lauderdale used by Broward County prosecutors.
This case is among five highlighted in a report on money laundering risks in commercial real estate by Global Financial Integrity and others, noting $2.6B laundered across 22 states, with California, Florida, and New York being the top destinations.
The DOJ alleged that between 2016 and 2019, Sefira Capital raised millions in criminal proceeds without sufficient due diligence, ignoring red flags like discrepancies in sender names and investment amounts.
The firm received funds from criminals using The Black Market Peso Exchange, which allowed drug traffickers to swap U.S. dollars for local currencies.
As part of the DEA investigation, dollars were bought on the black market and transferred to Sefira’s U.S. accounts under the guidance of money laundering brokers.
Sefira Capital, founded by Aby Galsky and Mijael Attias in late 2015, purchased at least seven properties in Florida and three in South Florida from 2015 to 2021, allegedly using laundered money. In a statement to Bisnow, Sefira claimed no knowledge or intent regarding the funds’ origins, stating they were passive recipients.
Sefira’s joint venture with Highline Real Estate Capital included buying and later selling the Courthouse Place office near the Broward County courthouse. Highline’s founder, David Moret, stated the DEA did not investigate their joint venture properties.
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Sefira’s acquisitions also included The Jaxon Apartments in Jacksonville, a Tampa office building, and a self-storage facility in Naples. A significant purchase was the Westin Tysons Corner, acquired with Driftwood Capital and Merrimac Ventures for $62M in 2018. Driftwood stated that Sefira was a passive limited partner.
In 2021, Sefira settled with the DOJ, agreeing to forfeit $22.5M in assets and pay $6.5M to avoid foreclosure. Galsky and Attias have since parted ways with Sefira and started new firms. Sefira’s website remains active, listing several properties, but the company lacks social media presence and is not mentioned in the founders’ LinkedIn profiles.
October September Surprises
by American Greatness
An October surprise is usually defined as the well-known (and more often left-wing) tactic of manufacturing or unloading a news story right before voting to surprise a rival without allowing them time sufficiently to respond or recover. Think of the last-minute bombshell disclosure, five days before the 2000 election, that…
Spiciest One-Minute Take On Entire COVID Sham: It Was All About Hysterical Female Energy
by Revolver News
There’s an intriguing argument being made about the COVID pandemic response, and it’s coming from a rather unexpected source—a woman. She suggests, in about one minute, that the entire reaction to the virus was driven by a distinctly female worldview. Honestly, this is the spiciest and best take we’ve ever…
NATO Prepares Mass Evacuation and Rescue Plans as Senior General Warns of World War 3 With Russia
by The Gateway Pundit
NATO is mobilizing its resources and strategic plans in anticipation of a potential all-out war, as articulated by Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, head of NATO’s logistics command. This urgent preparation underscores a grim reality: the specter of World War III is looming. In these two and a half years of war…
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Get Ready for Another Mail-in Ballot Fiasco
by Daily Signal
Many states are sending out mail-in ballots now for the Nov. 5 presidential election. Yet at the same time that so many more voters are depending on the mail to cast their ballots, the two leading national organizations of election officials wrote the U.S. Postal Service to demand immediate action…
Fact Check: Springfield, Ohio, Claims Haitian Migrants Are ‘Legal.’ Are They?
by Daily Signal
The Rust Belt community of Springfield, Ohio, now has a page on its website dedicated to answering common questions about the flood of illegal aliens, mostly Haitians, who have arrived there in recent years. “The City of Springfield has experienced a surge in our population over the last several years,…
United Nations JUST APPROVED the framework for a One World Government
by Glenn Beck
The United Nations kicked off its 2024 General Assembly by approving a group of game-changing proposals that are practically the framework for a One World Government. Glenn’s co-author for “The Great Reset,” “Dark Future,” and his upcoming book, “Propaganda Wars,” Justin Haskins, joins to break down what this “Pact for…
Reality Check: Has Telegram Bowed to Global Censorship Overlords After Founder’s Arrest in Paris?
by World Tribune
Less than a month after he was arrested by French authorities in Paris, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced the messaging app would bow to Western governments’ requests to provide Telegram users’ personal information. On Sept. 23, Durov said Telegram will provide users’ IP addresses and phone numbers “to relevant political…
‘Evidence Free’: Puberty Blocker Recommendation May Break Law, 21 Ags Warn Pediatrician Group
by Daily Wire
A group of nearly two dozen state attorneys general is warning the American Academy of Pediatrics that it may be breaking the law by continuing to recommend puberty blockers to children who are unhappy with their biological gender despite evidence the drugs cause harm. On Tuesday, the 21 attorneys general,…
FTC: Tech Giants Collecting Massive Amounts of Data From Kids and Teens
by Ava Grace, Natural News
(Natural News)—The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has disclosed in a report that tech giants are collecting massive amounts of data from their young users. The FTC report published Sept. 19 expounded on how social media and streaming companies endanger children and teens who use their platforms. It also showed how “the tech industry’s…
The Vast Pharmaceutical Conspiracy to Silence Dissent Online
by A Midwestern Doctor
Story at a Glance: There has been a coordinated campaign to attack and defame anyone who has spoken out against the COVID-19 response. This has primarily been restricted to social media (e.g., getting people deplatformed) but it has also been weaponized in real life (e.g., getting medical licenses revoked). This…
Busted: Will Media Ignore Coke Censoring ‘President Trump’ but Greenlighting ‘President Harris’?
by Newsbusters
Here’s a story the liberal media won’t cover: Leftist soda giant Coca-Cola seems to have made it clear where its political loyalties lie for the 2024 election, and it may have violated federal election law in the process. When MRC researchers attempted to customize a “Personalized 12 fl oz. Can…
Texas Warns Venezuelan Prison Gang “Activity Happening Across State”
by Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
(Zero Hedge)—Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took to X on Tuesday. He wasn’t speaking about the need for racial equity in America’s highways or woke activism in the FAA, but he attempted to persuade the internet that “crime is down.” What a ‘weird’ topic for Buttigieg to discuss with X users,…
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Well cocaine built Miami so it appears nothing has changed.