E
lie Schwartz, CEO of Nightingale Properties, was charged with wire fraud after a crowdfunded effort to buy Atlanta's marquee Buckhead office complex fell apart. The multimillion-dollar deal, which garnered national attention last year, involved investors on real estate crowdfunding website CrowdStreet.

    Schwartz allegedly misused investor funds, using them for personal and business expenses such as luxury watches and stock investments in troubled banks like First Republic and Credit Suisse. Court documents show that Schwartz transferred "substantially all of the money raised" into his own bank accounts, including a $30,000 payment on a high-end watch.

    Prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of Schwartz's property tied to the alleged crime and up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Nightingale Properties had raised over $62 million from investors for two deals, including about $54 million for Atlanta Financial Center, a nearly 915,000-square-foot office complex straddling Ga. 400.

    The deal collapsed after Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corp. agreed to sell the property to Nightingale for $182 million in June 2022. Schwartz's company had signed a settlement deal with investors in July 2023, agreeing to pay back funds in quarterly installments, but no payments were made after an initial $3 million payment.

    Schwartz pleaded not guilty and was granted a $20,000 bond. His attorney stated that he has been cooperating with the government's investigation and working with the trustee to repay investors.