Has anyone invested in any of the EquityBuild properties?

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@Shaun Cohen,I have read your message multiple times, and I have internalized it thoroughly. My father was an outgoing and generous individual. I have no doubt you had personal conversations with him and that he called your dad “Dad.” He called his local Caribou Coffee barista his “brother.”If my father was such a close “family” member to you, I question why this is the first time I have heard from you – or anyone at EquityBuild or City Suburban Title – since his passing three and a half years ago. In part of the message you removed from the public you state that you “are at least in part the cause of [your] father no longer being here.” If this is the case, whether or not you knew the cause, why did it take three and a half years and several blog posts for you to reach out to me? If you couldn’t make the funeral for your “family” member, sending even a card would have proven your point that you were genuinely so distraught when my father passed.Furthermore, I have been notified that you messaged the Community Manager on BiggerPockets “several times” – prior to your messaging me privately or posting on the blogs yourself – requesting that she remove my posts. While your message may appear heartfelt, the end of it has to do with your company name and reputation – not your sincerest apologies for my father’s death.Shaun, you are acting like my father and my beliefs are unfounded. Your father was involved in a major rental fraud scheme in 1999 in Philadelphia. You further proved my point that your investments are untraceable because not only do you pull from personal 401Ks, but you also collect investments in cash. Have you purchased ANY non-rushed, non-heavily distressed properties through bank transfers or wire transfers? As I said before, I have all of my father’s emails, texts, and documentation to show that numerous properties you purchased were managed in an unethical and illegal manner.Finally, by posting the absolute truth, I am doing the complete opposite of hurting people. Frankly, I am making them aware of the manipulative scheme you have going on at Hard Money Company and EquityBuild. This is not about revenge. You’re right: My father would never want to hurt anyone. In fact, my father said he felt sorry for your investors, and after receiving numerous private messages here from members fighting for their money back, I feel sorry for them too.Lindsay

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Wow.....if you want to see why these scammers are so successful, read those responses by Cohen and Norris above, all the apparent sincerity, while in the midst of running this ponzi.

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Hi All. My name is Lindsay Hirsch. My father was EB's attorney over 9 years ago and had committed suicide in 2012, noting Jerry and Shaun Cohen as well as the Ponzi scheme in his suicide notes. I took the suicide notes to the FBI and SEC in 2012, and it took 7 years for any significant progress to be made. In the meantime, I know many investors have lost money. I just got off the phone with a prominent Chicago news station who is looking for any EquityBuild investors who have been affected from 2012-2019 and would like to share their story. Please message me with contact information I can pass along to the investigative team there. Thanks so much!

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I wish I read this 2 years ago. The Ponzi son and father fled the country last week, with my life savings.

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@David Des @Wayne Brooks Account Closed Please see comment above!

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Wow, the SEC knew about EquityBuild in 2012?! I invested over with EquityBuild between 2016 and 2018, increasing my exposure as they "performed" on those investments. When the music stopped, they had over $250K of my money. I guess the SEC moves at the speed of government. If it took them just 5 years to unravel this case, I would have been out only $40K.

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I dont know how I ended up reading this thread - But it shows how these scammers operate and oh my god , talking badly about a person who is no more with us. i dont know anyone involved in this but this should be a classic example of how nicely the scammers can manipulate you with their words . Not to sound cynical - there is some extent of fraud in anything real estate related , I know its there in other areas as well but its definitely more prevalent in the real estate. people please equip yourself with good info ...

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Just for the record, between myself and a non-profit I represent, I have invested 250k with Equity Build. In the first 100k project there was some delay but the non-profit received a nice return of just under 25%. My other projects were delayed due to contractor fraud. The EB team has bent over backwards to keep me informed and present a path forward that offers more opportunity, and returns my capital with interest. Participants and readers of this forum know there are risks inherent in real estate investing. That said, I would use Equity Build again.

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Thanks for all of your help, John. You've made the process seamless!

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Lindsay -This is Mark Norris and while I no longer assist with EquityBuild's title transactions, I do an occasional project for them on the construction side of things, so I do continue to see the quality of the projects they produce.I did work with your father for many years on EquityBuild's transactions, and I was very confused when he began his rant about them. We have all made mistakes in our lives, myself included, but besides your father's comments, have never know, heard or become aware of EquityBuild having any issues or concerns about their transactions, properties and/or the manner in which they transact business.I'm not sure what you (or he) means about "rushed" transactions, or things not being documented properly, or "unethical practices". I spoke with your father many, many times and asked him why and what he thought they (or CST) were doing wrong. As their attorney (and the title agent), he had full access to whatever he thought was "unethical" but he could never pinpoint it, nor provide any accurate or actual verification of wrong doing. Gordon just told me it was his gut and his opinion that they were bad people. While I typically trust the gut feeling of people I know and respect, Gordon was just not making any sense and after reviewing files thoroughly (his and CST's) I never found any "unethical" issues with their transactions. To the contrary, while flipping properties was an industry norm for many years, your father and I insisted that EquityBuild did not do transactions the old fashion way and we assisted them with creating procedures to assure that all their transactions were above boards and handled appropriately - your father created the procedures they used, so I did not understand why he suddenly thought they were wrong or unethical. His, "proof" or beliefs were just not accurate - "using investors money to buy and rehab properties" is totally correct, but the properties were NOT owned by Jerry Cohen; they are owned by EquityBuild and/or their investor groups and the mortgages recorded against the properties are to protect those investors' interests. I'm not sure what makes those "crazy" mortgages. I am also not sure why being the Grantor or Grantee on many properties is an issue as that is what they do, they buy, rehab and sell properties, so they will have numerous transactions listed in the County's records. It is the same thing with the housing court cases; distressed properties have issues and through their rehabilitation of the properties those issues are resolved. You also stated something about "have you purchased ANY non-rushed, non-heavily distressed properties through bank transfers or wire transfer"? Well, I can unequivocally state, always - it is State law (one I helped write) that all funds must be by wire transfer or certified funds. And again, distressed properties are what they do and most of them are time sensitive. Anyway - yes, your father keep "screaming" at me - something was not right with him. He burned many bridges at that time, not just with the Cohen's or Norris', but also others in the industry. Even the attorney who took over the transactions for EquityBuild, who is even more ethical and stringent on procedures than your dad was, never understood what the issue was or what Gordon's concerns were.As Jayne said, EquityBuild produces some great buildings. They insist that their contractors use high quality materials and produce good clean buildings, something a "ponzi scheme" or company interested only in profits, or the bottom line would not do. They don't need to install granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, but they want the families occupying their building to be happy. I know from direct experience that their tenants are proud to call an EquityBuild apartment home.Sorry to be so direct, but your father took his own life which meant something was not right inside. While that is tragic and very sad, it was certainly not due to anything EquityBuild, or I did, or CST, or other professional associates of his, may have done. It was something much deeper. While I guess I am happy he found a way to be at peace, I am very sorry none of us was able to help him work through the issues that affected him so dearly and more so sorry he pushed us all aside and would not accept any help. He is now enjoying some time with a dear mentor of ours, John Dugan, and the mutual respect they had for each other - two of the most honest attorneys I have ever meet. May they rest in peace.