Convicted businessman ‘Sunny’ Shah’s million-dollar lakefront home for sale

The million-dollar lakefront home owned by a Columbus man convicted in an income tax refund check cashing scheme has been for sale nearly nine months, according to a listing with realtor.com.

The Green Island Hills home owned by Sawan “Sonny” Shah and his wife, Rajeshree, went on the estate market after Sonny Shah entered a federal guilty plea to one count of operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Shah was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land for his role in a scam that bilked more than $24 million from the U.S. government and has led to nearly two dozen convictions in federal court in Alabama and Georgia.

He was sentenced on Jan. 26, 2016, and has yet to begin his prison term.

Three attorneys involved in the case refused comment earlier this week when asked about Shah’s case and why he had not begun his prison sentence. Columbus defense attorney Stacey Jackson, one of two attorneys who represented Shah at the sentencing, referred all questions to lead attorney Jeffery C. Duffey of Montgomery, Ala. Michael C. Boteler, out of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., has been the lead prosecutor and he also declined comment.

Shah, a naturalized citizen from Mumbai, India, has lived in Columbus for more than 16 years and owns a string of local convenience stores.

About six months after the sentencing, Shah’s home on Cascade Road was listed for sale with Coldwell Banker Kennon, Parker, Duncan & Davis for $2 million. The original listing was Aug. 8, 2016, and the price was reduced to $1.895 million on Aug. 11, 2016. The price was reduced again to $1.7 million on Feb. 15 of this year. The house remains on the market at that price.

The six bedroom, two-and-half bathroom home has more than 8,000 square feet and sits on 1.27 acres, according to listing information available online.

The assessed property value on the home is $1.056 million, according to records on file with the city’s tax assessor’s office. In 2016, the Shahs paid $16,879.26 in property tax, according to city records.

The Shahs purchased the home in March 2012 for $648,600. It had been on the market for more than 19 months when it sold. The Shahs did extensive renovations and additions to the home, which was built in the early 1990s.

In July 2012, building permits with the city of Columbus Department of Inspections and Codes were obtained to do more than $450,000 worth of work to the house.

“Sunny” Shah ran into legal trouble when he got caught in a complex scheme to steal personal identities, file fake income tax returns and cash the refund checks. He was involved in cashing 567 fake income tax refund checks during 2013 and 2014. The checks totaled more than $1.357 million, according to facts presented at the sentencing.

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Convicted businessman ‘Sunny’ Shah’s million-dollar lakefront home for sale."