The BlackRock HPS $500 Million Fraud: A Complete Timeline

Let's directly start The BlackRock HPS $500 Million Fraud: A Complete Timeline

Who Is Bankim Brahmbhatt?

Bankim Brahmbhatt is an Indian-origin businessman and entrepreneur who owns two telecom companies: Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice. He managed their operations primarily in the United States. Before his involvement in this fraud case, he was regarded as a legitimate business owner operating in the telecommunications sector. In October 2025, he became the center of one of the largest private credit frauds in recent history

How the Fraud Started (2020-2021)

The Setup:

Brahmbhatt needed money to grow his telecom businesses. Instead of going through traditional bank loans, he discovered a faster way to get cash called receivables financing through BlackRock's HPS Investment Partners (a division that lends money based on a company's future payments from customers).

Here's how receivables financing works in simple terms:

• A company has customers who owe it money in the future

• Instead of waiting to receive that money, the company can sell those future payments to a lender at a discount

• The lender gives immediate cash and keeps the future payments

• It's legal when real customers actually exist

The Trap:

Between 2020 and 2025, Brahmbhatt's companies obtained over $500 million in loans from BlackRock's HPS and other lenders using this receivables financing method. The lenders believed his companies had massive customer bases generating steady revenue.

How He Created Fake Customers (The Core Fraud)

The Scheme:

To secure these massive loans, Brahmbhatt did something criminal: he invented fake customers who didn't actually exist. Here's how he executed it:

1. Created Fake Invoices: He generated invoices showing that non-existent customers owed his company large sums of money

2. Fabricated Customer Emails: He created fake email addresses and correspondence pretending these customers were real and communicating with his company

3. Forged Contracts: He created contracts and agreements with customers who never existed

4. Backdated Everything: All these fake documents were backdated to make it look like these customer relationships had existed since 2018 or earlier, giving false credibility

Why This Worked:

• Receivables financing deals move quickly; lenders don't always conduct deep investigations

• His companies showed consistent "revenue streams" on paper

• The documentation looked legitimate at first glance

The Money Flow (How He Used the Fraud)

Once he received the $500 million in loans based on these fake invoices:

• He used some money to pay back earlier loans (a classic Ponzi scheme method)

• He siphoned money into his personal accounts

• He used funds for unauthorized business expansion

• The money never came back because the "customers" and "invoices" were completely fabricated

How the Fraud Was Discovered

The Small Detail That Unraveled Everything:

In October 2025, during a routine audit or investigation, something simple revealed the entire scheme: lenders tried to contact the supposed customers via the email addresses provided, but discovered these email addresses were either fake or inactive.

When investigators started digging deeper:

• They discovered the customer emails didn't actually belong to real businesses

• They found that invoices and contracts didn't match actual business transactions

• They realized the same fake customers appeared across multiple loan documents

• Financial records showed money was never actually received from these "customers"

  
  

This is when BlackRock and other lenders realized they had been defrauded on a massive scale.

The Collapse (August-October 2025)

What Happened:

Once the fraud was discovered, the situation collapsed rapidly:

1. Bankruptcy Filings: The factoring units (lending subsidiaries) of both Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice filed for bankruptcy in late August 2025, unable to pay back the fraudulent loans

2. Investigation Launched: U.S. law enforcement agencies began investigating the scheme

3. Bankim Goes Missing: By early November 2025, Brahmbhatt was reported to be on the run, with his whereabouts unknown

4. Multiple Lenders Affected: It wasn't just BlackRock affected; other lenders, including BNP Paribas, also suffered losses, suggesting he may have run similar schemes with multiple financial institutions

The Investigation & Legal Action

Current Status (as of November 2025):

• U.S. federal investigators are actively probing the case

• Wire fraud charges are likely being prepared

• His telecom companies were suspended from anti-fraud consortiums

• The full extent of the fraud may be larger than initially reported—early estimates suggested $400-500 million, but the actual figure could be higher

Why This Fraud Matters

For Lenders & Investors:

This case exposed a major weakness in the private credit market, a sector that has grown rapidly but often lacks the strict oversight of traditional banking. Receivables-based lending can be particularly vulnerable because it relies heavily on the accuracy of customer documentation.

Key Red Flags That Should Have Been Caught:

• No verification of customer identities before lending

• Lack of direct customer contact verification

• Insufficient due diligence on supposedly large customer bases

• Weak internal controls for reviewing invoices and contracts

This fraud highlighted how even major, sophisticated firms like BlackRock can fall victim to well-executed schemes. It also raised concerns about the shadow banking sector's ability to self-regulate.

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