Talk Show Host Charged with CRE Fraud

Federal prosecutors have charged the host of a South Florida real estate talk show with defrauding investors by creating a Ponzi scheme. According to authorities, Anthony F. Cutaia, host of the local TV and radio show “Talk About Mortgages and Real Estate,” recruited investors for commercial real estate projects arranged by his Boca Raton-based companies. He turned himself in and later was released after posting a $410,000 bond, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In addition to hosting his local television and radio program, Cutaia ran real estate and mortgage businesses. He found investors through the talk show, real estate seminars, and contacts with other real estate brokers. He told the investors that their money would be used exclusively to buy real estate in South Florida and elsewhere, and that they'd receive quarterly interest payments of about 8 percent. Over two dozen of these investors haven't seen any returns.

According to federal prosecutors, Cutaia used most of the investors' money to make payments to other investors and to pay personal and business expenses, a method first used by 1920s swindler Charles Ponzi, for whom the so-called “Ponzi scheme” is named. The alleged fraud took place from March 2003 to December 2006. Many of the properties the talk show host convinced investors to take a chance on went into foreclosure.