Gary Lefkowitz

Gary Wayne Lefkowitz (born 1952 or 1953)^[1] is an American businessman who was convicted in July 1995 of 47 counts of fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the most for any white-collar criminal at the time.

In 1984, Lefkowitz founded Citi Equity Group, a fraudulent company lying to investors and housing authorities to get low-income housing tax credits, leaving property owners and builders with unpaid bills and embezzling investors' money.

Biography

Gary Wayne Lefkowitz was born in 1952 or 1953. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley after his parents moved to California from the Midwest. His father, Albert, was convicted of income tax evasion and served a year in federal prison. Lefkowitz graduated from Granada Hills High School, earned a business administration degree from the University of Southern California, and later obtained a law degree from Loyola Law School. He ran a public interest law clinic in West Hollywood and gained some recognition representing elderly tenants, while also building political connections in the California Democratic Party.^[1]

Lefkowitz founded Citi Equity Group in 1984.^[2] Based in Culver City, it served as an investment company which helped finance and build low-rent apartment buildings,^[3] with operations in fourteen states.^[4] Additionally, Citi Equity claimed to use a section of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to collect low-income tax credits, telling investors that they would receive a share.^[4] Although investors thought they were buying legitimate tax shelters designed to help finance low-income housing, according to prosecutors, many of the projects were left incomplete as Lefkowitz spent investors’ money to cover personal expenses and a Colorado ski resort.^[3] One of these projects, an apartment complex in Kennewick, burned to the ground in June 1996 after builders left the site as they were without pay.^[5]

Lefkowitz was charged in early May 1994 by a federal grand jury with 45 counts of conspiring to defraud home builders, the Internal Revenue Service and approximately 7,000 investors. On May 18, federal authorities indicted him.^[2] Lefkowitz pleaded not guilty and was freed on a USD$1 million bail, being represented by a public defender and telling the court that he was contemplating insanity as a defense. Citi Equity was also forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.^[1] On July 21, 1995, a federal jury in Minneapolis found Lefkowitz guilty of a total of 47 charges, which included fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion.^[6] Despite a two-hour plea for leniency, presiding judge David S. Doty in Minneapolis sentenced him to 24 years in prison, a record punishment for white-collar crime.^[3] He served his 24-year sentence in a federal prison in Oakdale, Louisiana.^[7]

References

1. Nauss, Donald W. (29 August 1994). "Up to $50 Million Lost in Housing Scheme, U.S. Says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
2. "Calif. man indicted for housing fraud". United Press International. 18 May 1994. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
3. "Lawyer Gets 24-Year Sentence in Fraud Case". Los Angeles Times. 11 December 1995. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
4. "Man charged in national realty swindle". The Free Lance–Star. Vol. 110, no. 120. Associated Press. 20 May 1994. p. E2. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
5. "Apartments burn in Kennewick". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press. 13 June 1996. p. 4. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
6. "Californian Guilty Of Bilking Investors". The New York Times. 25 July 1995. p. 4. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
7. Brady, Tim; Gilyard, Burl (12 June 2007). "The 10 Most Unwanted". Minnesota Monthly. Retrieved 17 January 2026.