North Texas Bollywood singer accused of "fraudulent" investment deals
NORTH TEXAS – Singing the Bollywood melodies had made Sidhartha "Sammy" Mukherjee a local celebrity in North Texas. However, behind the scenes, Mukherjee is accused of using his fame and charm to defraud people out of millions of dollars.
More than a dozen people have told the CBS News Texas I-Team that they gave Mukherjee money for what they thought were real estate investments. They claim, in both interviews with the I-Team and in court records, that Mukherjee's pitches turned out to be fabricated. Many accuse the Plano singer of going as far as forging contracts, emails and documents to convince them the real estate projects were real.
Terry Parvaga, who claims he lost all $400,000 from his 401K account to Mukherjee, said, "They will make you believe that they are very successful businesspeople, but they will take every single penny you have."
Most of those who spoke with the I-Team said they were introduced to Mukherjee at one of his parties after a performance. They describe the Bollywood singer as charismatic, charming and believable. "They use that status to build trust with their victims before they actually become victims," said Seshu Madabushi.
Not long after meeting Mukherjee, Madabushi said the Bollywood singer approached him and his three business partners about an investment project at the Roseland Estates in Dallas. The men said Mukherjee showed them what appeared to be a letter from the Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) stating that Mukherjee's company, Dallas Creative Remodelers, had been awarded a contract to renovate the townhomes. The men said they gave Mukherjee more than $128,000. In exchange, they say Mukherjee promised them a hefty return on their investment. That return, so far, has not come.
When the I-Team reached out to DHA, the special counsel for the government agency told the I-Team it has had "no contractual agreements or projects associated with Mukherjee, doing business as Dallas Creative Remodelers, or in any other capacity." The I-Team also shared a copy of the letter that Mukherjee allegedly provided would-be investors. The government agency confirmed the letter is "not from DHA." DHA also confirmed that emails Mukherjee allegedly provided would-be investors from a DHA employee were fabricated.
Looking back, Madabushi said they should have been wiser and asked more questions. "But we never thought someone would go to that extent to fake documents," he said.
Mukherjee denies all the accusations but declined to get into details about the investment deals with the I-Team. In a phone conversation, Mukherjee told the I-Team that every investment deal was legit, but some just didn't work out. As for the documents about the DHA contract, Mukherjee acknowledged they were fake but said he wasn't the one who forged them. Mukherjee explained to the I-Team how he believes he is the real victim – a victim of a coordinated effort by dozens of people to defame him because they're jealous of his status and success.
In 2023, Mukherjee filed for bankruptcy, and the case is still pending. According to court records, Mukherjee owes more than $2.7 million – more than half of that debt comes from creditors who claim in court records that they were defrauded. Mukherjee recently hired a new attorney for his bankruptcy case. When the I-Team reached out to his new attorney, he said due to the pending legal matter, at that time, he had no comment.
The alleged victims have filed complaints with local police, the Texas Attorney General's Office, and the Texas State Securities Board – the state agency in charge of protecting investors.