Sammy and Sunita Mukherjee pose glamorously at public event, now accused in multimillion-dollar scam.
Sidhartha 'Sammy' Mukherjee and his wife Sunita, who were previously well-known in North Texas for their celebrity-like appearances and Bollywood-inspired performances, have been arrested on suspicion of masterminding a multi-million-dollar real estate fraud.
The duo, which was well-liked in Plano's Indian-American community, now has first-degree felony theft charges hanging over it. As reported by the Daily Mail, they are presently detained at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
The authorities allege the Mukherjees defrauded more than 100 people of over $4 million (about Rs. 33 crore) by selling them sham real estate investment schemes that did not exist. The victims were presented with fake documents such as spurious remodeling contracts and bills masquerading as those of the Dallas Housing Authority to give the ventures a semblance of legitimacy.
As CBS News stated, "The investors didn't realize the fraud until the dividend cheques started to bounce."
The scam was originally discovered in 2024 when one couple reported $325,000 lost to local police. Euless Police detective Brian Brennan handled the case, which would subsequently be enlarged with assistance from the FBI.
In an interview with CBS, Detective Brennan revealed that he had never encountered a 'fraudster' in his 23-year career as 'prolific' as Sammy Mukherjee. The Dallas Housing Authority affirmed the invoices utilized were totally fake, validating the real estate projects used were also fictitious.
A number of victims have since emerged, recounting how the duo employed charm and the trappings of wealth to gain confidence. A mere 20 have thus far been officially reported, though authorities estimate that the number of victims is over 100.
"They will make you think they are highly successful businesspeople. But they will take every penny you've got," victim Terry Parvaga told CBS News in an interview.
In other instances, the pair even threatened older victims with menacing emails threatening them with looming arrests unless payments were made promptly.
Investigators also accuse the Mukherjees of defrauding the American government by making false pandemic relief claims in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Daily Mail reports that the couple had provided forged documents, made up lists of fake employees, and made false payroll data to receive money.
When asked by the FBI at a McDonald's store in Plano, Sammy Mukherjee allegedly said he didn't know the names of individuals named on the payroll for the PPP loan.
In spite of being under intense scrutiny, the couple kept a public presence. They sought bankruptcy protection in 2024, and authorities are currently probing if the stolen funds had been transferred abroad or used to invest in cryptocurrency assets.
The Daily Mail further reports that the Mukherjees had initially come to the U.S. from India as asylum seekers. Federal immigration records, however, are still not clear on their status. Sidhartha Mukherjee further has outstanding fraud warrants pending in Mumbai.
Both Sidhartha and Sunita Mukherjee, if convicted, face between five and 99 years in jail.
