Gary Lefkowitz

{{Short description|American businessman (born 1952)}} {{Infobox criminal | honorific_prefix = | name = | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_upright = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Gary Wayne Lefkowitz | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1952}} | birth_place = United States | disappeared_date = | disappeared_place = | disappeared_status = | death_date =  | death_place = | death_cause = | body_discovered = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | monuments = | other_names = | citizenship = American | education = Granada Hills High School | alma_mater = University of Southern California<br>Loyola Law School | occupation = Businessman, lawyer | years_active = c. 1970s–1995 | employer = Citi Equity Group | organization = | agent = | known_for = Founder of Citi Equity Group and involvement in a low-income housing fraud scheme | notable_works = | style = | height = | television = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | criminal_charge = Fraud, obstruction of justice, tax evasion | conviction_penalty = 24 years imprisonment | conviction_status = Convicted | spouse =  | children =  | parents =  | relatives = | callsign = | awards = | website = | allegiance =  | motive = | conviction = 47 counts of fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion | trial =  | trial_start = | trial_end = | reward_amount = | capture_status = | wanted_by = | accomplices = | wanted_since = | time_at_large = | escaped = | escape_end = | comments = | victims = Approximately 7,000 investors | date = 1984–1994 | time = | beginyear = | endyear = | country = United States | states = | locations = | targets = | fatalities = | injuries = | weapons = | apprehended = 1994 | imprisoned = Federal Correctional Institution, Oakdale | module = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }} '''Gary Wayne Lefkowitz''' (born {{birth based on age as of date|41|1994|8|29|noage=1}})<ref name="LATimes" /> is an American businessman who was convicted in July 1995 of 47 counts of fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the most for any white-collar criminal at the time.

In 1984, Lefkowitz founded Citi Equity Group, a fraudulent company lying to investors and housing authorities to get low-income housing tax credits, leaving property owners and builders with unpaid bills and embezzling investors' money.

== Biography == Gary Wayne Lefkowitz was born in {{birth based on age as of date|41|1994|8|29|noage=1}}. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley after his parents moved to California from the Midwest. His father, Albert, was convicted of income tax evasion and served a year in federal prison. Lefkowitz graduated from Granada Hills High School, earned a business administration degree from the University of Southern California, and later obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School. He ran a public interest law clinic in West Hollywood and gained some recognition representing elderly tenants, while also building political connections in the California Democratic Party.<ref name="LATimes" />

Lefkowitz founded Citi Equity Group in 1984.<ref name="upi">{{cite news |title=Calif. man indicted for housing fraud |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/05/18/Calif-man-indicted-for-housing-fraud/1128769233600/ |access-date=16 January 2026 |work=United Press International |date=18 May 1994 |language=en}}</ref> Based in Culver City, it served as an investment company which helped finance and build low-rent apartment buildings,<ref name="LATImes2" /> with operations in fourteen states.<ref name="apnews" /> Additionally, Citi Equity claimed to use a section of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to collect low-income tax credits, telling investors that they would receive a share.<ref name="apnews">{{cite news |title=Man charged in national realty swindle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-YyAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA22&article_id=5970,3893010 |access-date=17 January 2026 |work=The Free Lance–Star |agency=Associated Press |volume=110 |issue=120 |date=20 May 1994 |page=E2 |language=en}}</ref> Although investors thought they were buying legitimate tax shelters designed to help finance low-income housing, according to prosecutors, many of the projects were left incomplete as Lefkowitz spent investors’ money to cover personal expenses and a Colorado ski resort.<ref name="LATImes2">{{cite news |title=Lawyer Gets 24-Year Sentence in Fraud Case |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-11-fi-12739-story.html |access-date=17 January 2026 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=11 December 1995}}</ref> One of these projects, an apartment complex in Kennewick, burned to the ground in June 1996 after builders left the site as they were without pay.<ref>{{cite news |title=Apartments burn in Kennewick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XR1VAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA3&article_id=3001,2048528 |access-date=17 January 2026 |work=Ellensburg Daily Record |agency=Associated Press |date=13 June 1996 |page=4 |language=en}}</ref>

Lefkowitz was charged in early May 1994 by a federal grand jury with 45 counts of conspiring to defraud home builders, the Internal Revenue Service and approximately 7,000 investors. On May 18, federal authorities indicted him.<ref name="upi" /> Lefkowitz pleaded not guilty and was freed on a USD$1 million bail, being represented by a public defender and telling the court that he was contemplating insanity as a defense. Citi Equity was also forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.<ref name="LATimes">{{cite news |last1=Nauss |first1=Donald W. |title=Up to $50 Million Lost in Housing Scheme, U.S. Says |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-29-mn-32555-story.html |access-date=16 January 2026 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=29 August 1994}}</ref> On July 21, 1995, a federal jury in Minneapolis found Lefkowitz guilty of a total of 47 charges, which included fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Californian Guilty Of Bilking Investors |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/25/business/californian-guilty-of-bilking-investors.html |access-date=16 January 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=25 July 1995 |page=4 |language=en}}</ref> Despite a two-hour plea for leniency, presiding judge David S. Doty in Minneapolis sentenced him to 24 years in prison, a record punishment for white-collar crime.<ref name="LATImes2" /> He served his 24-year sentence in a federal prison in Oakdale, Louisiana.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brady |first1=Tim |last2=Gilyard |first2=Burl |title=The 10 Most Unwanted |url=https://www.minnesotamonthly.com/lifestyle/business-politics/the-10-most-unwanted/ |access-date=17 January 2026 |work=Minnesota Monthly |date=12 June 2007}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

Category:1952 births {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefkowitz, Gary}} Category:1950s births Category:Living people Category:American people convicted of tax crimes Category:American people convicted of fraud Category:American people convicted of obstruction of justice Category:Granada Hills Charter High School alumni Category:Loyola Law School alumni Category:University of Southern California alumni