Owner of Blackhawk Plaza in Danville is tangled in web of failed loans

"DANVILLE The principal owner of Blackhawk Plaza in Danville is tangled in a web of failed real estate loans in Southern California that have engulfed multiple banks and created murky prospects for the delinquent properties. Deba Shyam, who heads up Ramanujan Group, the owner of the ailing retail and dining hub near the posh Blackhawk enclave, is a key figure, along with two other real estate executives, in a thicket of murky financing deals for at least 15 Southern California properties and one in Texas."

"The banks claim they were misled by the real estate executives into believing the lenders could use the properties as collateral for loans they provided should financing become delinquent. Shyam, Stupin, and Marcil instead found other lenders to provide additional loans for the same properties that had already received loans from the banks that brought the lawsuits, according to court filings."

"Zions Bancorp and its California Bank & Trust unit, along with Western Alliance Bank, filed separate lawsuits against Shyam, Andrew Stupin, Gerald Marcil, and others, claiming that they and their affiliates have breached contracts or engaged in fraudulent concealment, court records show. The case arises from a sweeping betrayal of trust by sophisticated financial professional borrowers who abused California Bank & Trust's confidence, manipulated loan structures for their own enrichment, and systematically eliminated the collateral protections that were supposed to secure the bank's loans, Zions Bancorp stated in the lawsuit, which was filed in October 2025."

Deba Shyam, head of Ramanujan Group, is implicated along with Andrew Stupin and Gerald Marcil in layered financing schemes affecting at least 15 Southern California properties and one in Texas. Zions Bancorp, California Bank & Trust, and Western Alliance Bank filed separate lawsuits alleging breach of contract and fraudulent concealment, asserting that the executives misled lenders about collateral and obtained additional loans on properties already pledged. The named executives have denied the allegations and filed countersuits. Blackhawk Plaza, purchased in 2020 for $28.3 million, is among the properties tied to the disputed financing, leaving prospects for delinquent properties uncertain.

Read at www.mercurynews.com