Posted on: December 16, 2021, 05:40h.
Last updated on: December 17, 2021, 10:00h.
A San Diego man who allegedly defrauded investors out of at least $28 million in a bogus hotel room-discounting scheme “laundered” money through Las Vegas casinos, including ARIA and The Cosmopolitan, according to the FBI.
Denny Bhakta, 39, was formerly a revenue manager for the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. He was arrested Tuesday and charged with securities fraud and money laundering.
Starting in 2016, prosecutors say he convinced investors to plow millions into his sham companies, Fusion Hotel Management and Fusion Hospitality Corporation.
Leaning on his hotel industry background, Bhakta claimed that the companies purchased discounted blocks of hotel rooms from Hilton. They then allegedly sold them to United Airlines for a fat…
