RAD Diversified Lawsuit Update: Indictment, Bankruptcy & Missing $100M

The RAD Diversified lawsuit update as of mid-2026: the Tampa-based non-traded REIT filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 1, 2026, co-founder Brandon “Dutch” Mendenhall was indicted on federal mail fraud charges on June 1, 2026, and more than 5,000 investors are now pursuing recovery through the bankruptcy court while multiple federal and state agencies continue criminal and regulatory investigations.¹² A December 2025 Forbes investigation reported an estimated $100 million was missing from company accounts.³

Where the Bankruptcy Case Stands

RAD Diversified REIT, Inc. and four affiliated entities filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions on March 1, 2026 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The five debtors are RAD Diversified REIT, Inc., RAD Diversified OZ Fund, LP, DHI Fund, LLC, DHI Holdings, LP, and DDH Fund, LP. The cases are jointly administered under Case No. 26-01636 before Judge Catherine Peek McEwen. The company listed assets and liabilities each between $50 million and $100 million, with between 5,001 and 10,000 creditors.¹⁴

No Chapter 11 trustee has been appointed. The debtors remain in possession, represented by Pack Law. The U.S. Trustee appointed an Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors that includes investors Lora Arneberg, Jeff Thomas, Jeff Dorr, and Jingjun “Jimmy” Wang, along with Jacar Investments LLC, Valet Living, LLC, and Premiere Networks, Inc.¹

The court approved multiple property sales free and clear of liens in June 2026. No formal liquidating plan had been filed as of mid-2026, but the sales activity points toward a wind-down of the real estate holdings. The Section 341 Meeting of Creditors was held in late April 2026 and continued into May, with a status conference set for June 24, 2026.¹⁴ By May 2026, roughly one-third of RAD’s holdings (nearly 200 properties) were in some stage of foreclosure.⁵

How to File a Claim as an Investor

If you invested with any of the five debtor entities, you can file a proof of claim. The court extended the original May 11, 2026 deadline to July 10, 2026. Claims can be filed online through the Epiq Corporate Restructuring portal or by mailing paper forms. Epiq is the designated claims administrator, and questions can be sent to RADDinfo@epiqglobal.com.¹

Investors held a mix of instruments: equity shares from Regulation A and Regulation D offerings, secured and unsecured promissory notes, and joint venture interests. The case has surfaced serious documentation gaps. Many joint venture investors were never reflected on property deeds, and promissory notes that referenced specific properties often lacked recorded mortgages or liens. Those gaps may complicate proving the nature and priority of a claim.¹

Separately, the FBI maintains an active victim questionnaire for anyone who invested money with RAD Diversified, tied to its criminal investigation. Filling out the questionnaire is distinct from filing a bankruptcy claim, and investors seeking recovery generally need to do both.⁶

The Federal Indictment of Brandon Mendenhall

On June 1, 2026, a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Florida indicted Brandon “Dutch” Mendenhall on one count of mail fraud. Prosecutors allege that beginning in November 2021, Mendenhall applied for a $1.2 million mortgage to buy a $1.6 million personal residence and inflated his income by falsely representing that business operating accounts belonging to his investment funds were his personal income. The indictment says he then caused mortgage closing documents to be mailed to a title company in the Middle District of Florida.²

If convicted, Mendenhall faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The government is also seeking forfeiture of the residence, alleging it is traceable to proceeds of the offense.⁷ As of the indictment date, Mendenhall had not entered a plea, and no trial date had been set.⁸

The indictment charges Mendenhall alone. Co-founder Amy Vaughn is named in the state investigation and appears in the FBI’s victim questionnaire, but as of mid-2026 she has not been separately indicted or criminally charged.⁶

Ongoing Regulatory and Civil Actions

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced on July 8, 2025 that his office had issued subpoenas to RAD Diversified, its subsidiaries, and its owners under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Uthmeier said publicly that the operation “appears to be a Ponzi scheme” and alleged the owners were “pocketing cash instead of buying properties as advertised.” The subpoenas demanded investor communications, banking records, marketing materials, offering statements, complaint records, and stockholder and property documentation, with a July 18, 2025 production deadline. Special Counsel Ellen Lyons and Senior Assistant Attorney General Miles Vaughn are handling the matter.⁹

The SEC has been scrutinizing the company for years. In February 2024, the agency effectively blocked RAD from raising money from unaccredited investors because the company lacked CPA-approved audits. The SEC later declared the offering statement “abandoned,” cutting off the Regulation A offering, and interviewed former employees and investors. RAD has said it produced more than one million pages of documents to the SEC.⁵³ Multiple federal agencies are involved beyond the FBI: IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, and Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation.²

On the civil side, conservative radio host Buck Sexton filed a civil RICO lawsuit in federal court in September 2025 against RAD Diversified, Mendenhall, and Vaughn, alleging he was defrauded of more than $100,000 on investment coaching and property deals that never materialized.¹⁰ Sexton also alleged the defendants defrauded him while paying to promote their ventures on his syndicated show.¹¹ RAD moved to dismiss, calling the claims “defective and outside federal jurisdiction.”³

The $100 Million in Missing Funds

The Forbes figure came from Jeff Thomas, the largest outside shareholder, who joined the RAD board in July 2025 and gained access to the company’s bank accounts. Thomas described “numerous concerns about how money moved between RAD entities,” said funds may not have been disbursed to joint venture partners, and called several entities “black boxes” with opaque finances. In an October 2025 letter to investors, Thomas reported the REIT was “broke,” with roughly $2.36 million in the bank, estimated assets of $90 million, and at least $90 million in debt. He was removed from the board after raising these questions.³

Those numbers matter for anyone weighing what a bankruptcy claim is realistically worth. Between reported asset-liability parity, the foreclosure pipeline, the documentation gaps in joint venture and note investments, and the disputed $100 million, distributions to unsecured investors could be substantially less than principal invested. Filing a proof of claim by July 10, 2026 preserves the right to recover; it does not guarantee an amount. The parallel FBI questionnaire feeds a separate criminal case that could later produce restitution or forfeiture proceeds if convictions follow.¹⁶

1
Epiq Corporate Restructuring. RAD Diversified REIT Case Information
2
U.S. Department of Justice. RAD Diversified REIT Co-Founder Indicted for Submitting False Information During Purchase
3
Forbes. These Florida Real Estate Hucksters Promised Financial Freedom, Now $100 Million Is Missing
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PACER Monitor. RAD Diversified REIT, Inc.
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Barron’s. Elon Musk X Going Public Show Investing Startups
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FBI. RAD Diversified Investigation Questionnaire
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IRS Criminal Investigation. RAD Diversified REIT Co-Founder Indicted for Submitting False Information During the Purchase of His $1.6 Million House
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Fox 13 News. Hillsborough County Business Owner Mail Fraud Scheme Buy House Indictment
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Florida Attorney General. Attorney General James Uthmeier Issues Subpoenas in Investigation of RAD Diversified REIT
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Talkers. Buck Sexton Sues Real Estate Investment Trust
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Barron’s. Buck Sexton RAD REIT Lawsuit