Beware of Raj Mahadevan and Jes Black. These two have misled investors in a “bait and switch” scheme. They enlisted the help of Dr. Rebecca Castaneda, a dentist in San Francisco to lure investors into a real estate investment scam. Their project Altos Escondidos, marketed as Panama’s first luxury green resort is questionable at best. Do not be taken in by these con artists.
They used a phony address 300 Park Avenue, Suite 1700, New York, NY 10022 to impress potential investors, when there really is no office there. It was just an address where Jes Black could receive mail.
In the marketing collateral that was given to potential investors, Raj and Jes alluded to Disney building a resort near Altos Escondidos. This is an outright lie!
Raj and Jes have given conflicting amounts as to what they paid for the land, Raj claims $1,380, 000 whereas Jes claims they paid over $2,000, 000 for the land. The amount actually paid is way over inflated.
Jes Black has been in trouble with the National Future’s Association before.
When investors flew down to Panama from the United States to see what they invested in, they were told the plane could not fly over to Altos Escondidos on that day.
Investors were promised quarterly and annual financial statements.in six years, not a single financial statement had been provided. When one investor pressured Raj for the statements, Raj told the investor, he’d have to pay for an accountant to do it because Raj wasn’t going to use company resources to pay for an accountant to do financial statements. Upon repeated pressure and a letter from an attorney Raj provided what appears to be phony financial statements that were not in accordance with the IFRS which is mandatory in Panama.
Investors were promised 100% return on their money within 12 to 18 months, but Raj and Jes knew they couldn’t deliver on that promise because they didn’t even have permits in place.
Raj mentioned he pays $1800 a month rent for the office whereas its been occupied by an Ob/Gyn who has been there in over a year. Other tenants on the same floor said they have never even seen or heard of Raj or Altos Escondidos.
Investors were told in 2010 that three lots have been sold and dividends would be paid to them shortly, here its 2013 and investors haven’t seen a dime from Raj.
Raj mentioned roads have been completed, then in a later email informed investors he can’t sell any more individual lots because there is no infrastructure.
In summer of 2012 Raj claimed a buy out is imminent, that investors will be receiving a buy-out package and to this day no buy-out package has been produced. It was just a ruse to get the investors off his back.
Raj and his fund raiser Jes Black are lying, cheating scam artists.
Don’t be fooled by these pond scums.
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