SAN JOSE — Housing sales are still in limbo at a San Jose residential complex that’s one of the properties engulfed in a vast Bay Area real estate fraud case that arose after hundreds of investors were swindled.
The Almaden, a 91-unit San Jose project of condominiums for sale, has yet to complete any purchase transactions, according to court papers filed in connection with a fraud case brought against real estate executive Sanjeev Acharya and his company, Silicon Sage Builders.
Acharya and Silicon Sage Builders developed the San Jose housing development, which is located at 1821 Almaden Road in San Jose’s Almaden-Clara Filice district.
The sluggish pace to complete The Almaden complex contrasts sharply with a similar housing development in Fremont that also was developed by Acharya and his firm.
While the San Jose residential development remains unfinished, most of the units in the 93-unit Fremont housing project have been sold, a court filing shows.
The San Jose and the Fremont housing projects were both part of Acharya’s and Silicon Sage’s Bay Area real estate empire, which imploded in the face of fraud allegations and a criminal case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC accused Acharya of fraud, claiming he bilked hundreds of unwitting investors, many of them of South Asian heritage, out of more than $100 million. Silicon Sage’s properties were shoved into court-ordered receivership in the wake of the criminal accusations.
Court-appointed receiver David Stapleton has been updating a federal judge supervising the criminal case against Acharya regarding the progress to unwind the legal thickets that have entangled Acharya’s real estate projects.
The latest update included details about the progress on both the Fremont project, which is owned by an Acharya affiliate called Osgood LLC; and the San Jose housing development, which is owned by 1821 Almaden LLC, also an Acharya-linked entity.
“The condominium project owned by Osgood LLC is complete, with 64 units having closed escrow, five in escrow, and 24 still being marketed for sale,” the court papers filed by the receiver’s attorney stated. The Fremont project is located at 42111 Osgood Road.
It appears Osgood LLC’s completed sales, as reflected by grant deeds, are higher than what is reflected by the court documents, which were current through the end of June.
Osgood LLC has completed the sale of 79 condos from December 2022 through Sept. 25 of this year, according to this news organization’s review of the grantee-grantor index posted by the Alameda County Recorder’s Office.
It’s a different pace for the San Jose housing development on Almaden Road, the court papers show.
“1821 Almaden LLC owns a condominium project in San Jose that remains under construction, although it is nearing completion and is about 85% complete,” the court papers state.
As of the end of March, the San Jose project was 80% complete. The receiver gave no estimate for the project’s completion date.
Condo sales at both the San Jose and the Fremont projects are crucial because it’s possible the proceeds from the transactions could be used to help defrauded investors recoup at least a small portion of the money they lost.
Oakland-based PG&E demanded that the San Jose project’s electrical system be completely revamped to meet the utility’s requirements.
Other significant work must be completed as well, the court papers stated.
“The storm drain system needs extensive corrections due to work that was deficiently installed pre-receivership. This has slowed the pace of the perimeter,” the receiver stated in the court filing.
The state Real Estate Department has also issued a final approval in late July for the form that the San Jose project’s purchase agreements must take.
The state agency’s approval regarding the purchase agreement forms is a key milestone in the efforts to sell the condos in the 91-unit San Jose development.
“1821 Almaden LLC can start the marketing of the remaining units,” the court papers stated.