Feds say high-flying Miami millionaire was a fraud

High-flying Miami millionaire was a fraud, feds say - Broward - MiamiHerald.com: “ . . . No shareholder was invited into InnoVida on the prospect of making a quick buck,’’ he said, adding that he was more than two years away from going public. At the time, however, his empire was already crumbling. A judge had stripped him of the authority to run the company, whose headquarters were on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Chris Korge, a shrewd Miami developer and lawyer, said Osorio assured him that his company had about $40 million in cash and a lucrative deal with Middle Eastern investors to purchase $500 million in company stock. Korge invested $4 million before he began to suspect that something didn’t add up. “Jeb Bush was on the board, there were a lot of successful people convincing me. We went out and we met and I just began to realize that the cost-effectiveness of building with the materials would never work,’’ Korge said. By that time, however, it was too late. Creditors were already knocking on Osorio’s door, including the Swiss government, which claimed he owed $220 million in loans from Swiss banks that he obtained by lying about the soundness of his previous business venture, Miami-based CHS Electronics. That company went bankrupt in 2000. Korge’s attorney, Kendall Coffey, said Osorio had a knack for exploiting South Floridians’ quest for wealth and success. “Miami is a city of newcomers and opportunity. And the combination creates a perfect landscape for fraud,’’ said Coffey, a former Miami U.S. attorney. . . ."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/07/v-fullstory/3131806/high-flying-miami-businessman.html#storylink=cpy


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