RAD Diversified REIT Co-Founder Indicted for Mail Fraud in $1.6 Million Home Purchase
Brandon Dutch Mendenhall, 46, of Brandon, Florida, was charged by indictment in the Middle District of Florida with one count of mail fraud for submitting false information during the purchase of a $1.6 million house. The indictment notifies Mendenhall that the U.S. government intends to forfeit the house as proceeds traceable to the offense.
snopes.comTAMPA, Fla. — Brandon Dutch Mendenhall, co-founder of RAD Diversified REIT and a 46-year-old resident of Brandon, Florida, was indicted on one count of mail fraud for allegedly submitting false information to obtain a $1.6 million house, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on June 1, 2026.
The single-count indictment returned in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida alleges Mendenhall used the mails in furtherance of a scheme to defraud a lender by providing false information during the home purchase. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation notifying Mendenhall that the United States intends to seize the house itself, which prosecutors say constitutes traceable proceeds of the mail-fraud offense.
The charging document marks the first public federal criminal action against Mendenhall in connection with the transaction. No co-defendants are named. The case will proceed in Tampa federal court under the supervision of U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida.
The indictment triggers several immediate operational consequences. Federal prosecutors must now present evidence to a jury or secure a plea; Mendenhall must appear for arraignment and respond to the forfeiture notice. Should the house be forfeited, the government will sell it and retain the proceeds.
The 20-year statutory maximum also sets the ceiling for any eventual sentencing calculation under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines once specific loss amounts and other enhancements are proven.
This is the latest enforcement action by the Justice Department targeting alleged fraud in high-value real-estate transactions. The department has pursued similar mail-fraud and bank-fraud cases against real-estate investors and developers in Florida in recent years, often pairing criminal charges with civil forfeiture of the underlying property.
The indictment was returned under seal and unsealed on June 1, 2026, per the Department of Justice release.
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