RAD Diversified REIT, Inc.; Brandon “Dutch” Mendenhall; Amy Vaughn; and The Seminar Solution, LLC, Relief Defendant
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26596 / July 29, 2026
Securities and Exchange Commission v. RAD Diversified REIT, Inc., et al., No. 8:26‑cv‑02186 (M.D. Fla. filed July 29, 2026)
SEC Charges Real Estate Investment Trust Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and Founders with Fraud in Alleged $152 Million Scheme
On July 29, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against RAD Diversified REIT, Inc. (“RADD”), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”), and its founders Brandon “Dutch” Mendenhall and Amy Vaughn, for raising at least $152 million from more than 5,500 retail investors nationwide through an alleged fraudulent real estate investment scheme in which Mendenhall and Vaughn collectively misappropriated nearly $5 million of investor funds.
According to the SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, from November 2019 through March 2024, the defendants systematically deceived investors about RADD’s profitability, stock valuation practices, and liquidity, through an extensive marketing campaign using unregistered sales agents and high-pressure tactics, and invoking Christian values and patriotism to gain investor trust. The complaint alleges that the defendants falsely claimed that RADD was a profitable REIT and that “zero investors have ever lost money on their investment,” when in reality, RADD suffered millions of dollars in annual losses. The complaint also alleges that the defendants claimed RADD’s ever-increasing stock price was based on independent appraisals or valuations of the REIT’s properties and would be regularly updated; however, the properties were not independently valued, and defendants never updated RADD’s stock beyond July 2023, despite widespread property foreclosures and internal findings showing the stock price was significantly overstated. The defendants allegedly assured investors of liquidity, while routinely denying or ignoring redemption requests, which RADD ultimately froze in February 2024, later filing for bankruptcy in March 2026. Moreover, the complaint alleges that the defendants diverted approximately $54 million of investor funds to relief defendant The Seminar Solution, LLC (“TSS”), an entity owned by Mendenhall and Vaughn, who then misappropriated millions for personal expenses, including IRS taxes, private jet charters, luxury goods, and recreational activities.
The SEC’s complaint charges RADD, Mendenhall, and Vaughn with violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Relief defendant TSS is charged with unjust enrichment. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions and disgorgement with prejudgment interest against all defendants, and civil penalties, conduct-based injunctions, and officer and director bars against Mendenhall and Vaughn. The SEC also seeks disgorgement with prejudgment interest against relief defendant TSS.
The SEC’s investigation was supervised by Assistant Directors Jason R. Berkowitz and Fernando Torres, Acting Supervisory Trial Counsel Russell Koonin, and was conducted with assistance from Senior Accountant Mark Dee, under the supervision of Associate Director Stephanie N. Moot of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Mr. Koonin and Trial Counsel Michael Mikulic.