Milton Property Developer Sentenced To Prison For Fraud

MILTON, GA — A Milton man has been sentenced to prison for defrauding a company and its elderly owner, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Louis Beria, 64, of Milton, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution of $1,621,979. Beria was convicted on these charges on Nov. 4, 2020, after he pleaded guilty.

Beria has been sentenced to prison for defrauding a company and its elderly owner. The defendant was previously an advisor and property manager of an apartment complex owned by the victim.

The victim was an elderly, German investor, who began purchasing properties in Northern Georgia several years ago. Beria met the victim and became an advisor and property manager for the victim.

“The victim trusted Beria to manage his property but was betrayed when the defendant diverted over $1.6 million for his own benefit,” Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine said. “With elder fraud unfortunately on the rise, it remains a priority for our office.”

Among other tasks, the victim hired Beria to manage an apartment complex he owned in Atlanta. While managing that apartment complex, Beria owned a separate apartment complex in Atlanta. Beria hired a company to do construction work on the complex he owned but used money from the victim’s apartment complex to pay for it. Ultimately, Beria stole $1,621,979 and lied to the victim about how he used this money

“Beria stole the hard-earned money of an investor who trusted him to manage his properties,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “No matter how clever the investment scam is, the FBI will find and hold accountable anyone who preys on unsuspecting investors.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.