U.S. files suit over $6 million worth of embezzled property sales in Dallas

The United States Department of Justice said Thursday that it has moved to seize more than $6 million in proceeds from the sale of commercial real estate in Dallas that it says was embezzled by owners of a Ukrainian bank.

It’s the fourth civil forfeiture complaint the DOJ has filed in the southern district of Florida involving companies related to Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Boholiubov, who owned PrivatBank, one of the largest banks in Ukraine.

The DOJ says the pair embezzled and defrauded the bank of billions of dollars and hired two associates operating out of Miami, Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber, to launder the misappropriated funds. The team worked through a web of entities all named using variations of the word “Optima.”

“Mr. Korf and Mr. Laber have never engaged in money laundering of any kind, and they have no knowledge of anyone else doing so,” said Marc Kasowitz, attorney for Korf and Laber. “Any allegations against Mr. Korf and Mr. Laber arise from Ukrainian political disputes they have nothing to do with.”

The government filed its initial complaints in August 2020 against the investors that own a Dallas office park that used to be the headquarters of CompuCom Systems Inc. and a Louisville, Ky., high-rise. It said the two buildings are worth a combined $70 million. A third suit was filed in December, alleging that property in Cleveland, Ohio, was involved.

The two associates purchased hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate, including the Stemmons Towers at 8787 North Stemmons Freeway and the former CompuCom headquarters on Forest Lane west of U.S. Highway 75.

The CompuCom property has been owned since 2010 by Miami-based investor OPTIMA 7171 LLC, tax records show. The latest allegation claims that Optima used profits from the CompuCom property to pay for improvements to Stemmons Towers. One of the Optima entities sold Stemmons Towers in 2019 through a seller financing agreement.

More than $6 million in principle and interest is still owed on this property to a specially created entity owned by Optima Ventures named 87STE LLC. The government wants to seize the promissory note and deed of trust related to the agreement.

The FBI’s Cleveland field office is investigating further, with support from the FBI’s International Corruption Unit and the IRS Criminal Investigation. The government is demanding a jury trial, according to court documents.