KKR Opening First Los Angeles Office, Growing California Footprint

August 1, 2023 / no comments

Alternative asset manager KKR & Co. is opening a new office in Los Angeles as part of its plan to capitalize on opportunities it sees in California.
The office in Los Angeles will be KKR’s third in the state, joining offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley’s Menlo Park. 
“Real estate markets are going through a combination of repricing and deleveraging,” KKR Global Head of Real Estate Ralph Rosenberg told Bloomberg.
California is “where the action is going to be, and that’s where the opportunities are going to come,” he said.
Rosenberg also referenced California’s position as one of the world’s largest economies and home of thriving entertainment, defense,…

Palm Beach Developer Gets 5 Years In Prison For Defrauding Investors, Lenders

August 1, 2023 / no comments

Developer Robert Matthews was sentenced to 65 months in prison Monday for crimes tied to a West Palm Beach hotel redevelopment fundraising scheme that defrauded investors and financial institutions of tens of millions of dollars.
Matthews, 65, pleaded guilty in 2019 to charges that he misled investors about the redevelopment of The Palm House Hotel and used investor funds to pay off credit card debt and purchase properties in Connecticut. 
Matthews, who maintains residences in Florida and Connecticut, used an intermediary company to raise money for the hotel redevelopment from foreign investors looking to take advantage of the EB-5 visa program, which allows foreign nationals…