Modesto developer avoids trial with fraud plea

Aruna Kumari Chopra tried to conceal forgeries with more forged signatures – no less than 14 in all, on multiple phony documents – in her failed quest to build Modesto’s first IMAX theater, according to her recent plea deal with federal authorities.

Chopra, 66, agreed last week to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud in exchange for prosecutors dropping another mail fraud count plus two counts of aggravated identify theft, her plea deal says. When sentenced at a date yet to be scheduled, a judge is expected to order Chopra to repay victims about $6 million, and send her to federal prison for several years, the document says.

She and her husband, Sawtantra, continue to face separate forgery and impersonation charges in Stanislaus County Superior Court related to another 27-year-old land deal. Also last week, a judge signed off on a resolution to their four-year bankruptcy.

Aruna Chopra’s dream for The Plaza at Dale – a six-screen theater, bowling alley, Four Points by Sheraton hotel, restaurants, shops and luxury condominiums across Dale Road from the Kaiser hospital – emerged in The Modesto Bee in 2008, after she acquired nearly 40 acres putting down $3 million with an additional $6.4 million debt to sellers.

She later obtained more loans worth $2.5 million secured by the same property. Recorded documents bearing forged signatures concealed from lenders the previous debt as well as hiding the new loans from old lenders, the plea deal says. Chopra nearly persuaded City Hall to provide $6.7 million in bonds, also secured by the land.

One key document purportedly was signed in Modesto by a woman who later proved she was in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on the day in question. Verification by a notary public also was forged, the plea deal says.

In 2011, the original lender’s real estate agent reported suspicions to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department. An unidentified officer unwittingly tipped off Chopra, who tried to cover her tracks by reversing the forged documents with new forgeries, she admitted in the plea deal.

The Bee in August 2011 revealed an investigation by FBI and local authorities as well as several lawsuits against Chopra and her companies. She and her husband filed for bankruptcy protection four months later, followed by her arrest on federal charges in March 2012. The couple were arrested again in December 2014 and charged with local fraud counts including allegations of similar forgery tactics.

The couple came to the United States from India in 1974, and Aruna Chopra’s business interests have spanned several counties in the Central Valley and Bay Area.

Other developers are seeking permission from the city for a medical complex, assisted-living facility, hotel and restaurant on half of the Dale Road land previously controlled by Chopra.

It appears that the region’s first IMAX theater, with enhanced visuals and sound, will land in Riverbank next year. Galaxy Theatres, which opened a 12-screen cineplex in 2000, in September revealed plans for a 440-seat IMAX auditorium and said it could open in January or February.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Modesto developer avoids trial with fraud plea."