The DLP Capital lawsuit that draws most searches is a $21.7 million breach-of-contract suit filed in January 2022 by former senior managing director Anthony Ruben, which settled confidentially in October 2024. Beyond that closed case, the St. Augustine-based private real estate firm is the subject of an active investigation by a securities law firm into one of its funds and a series of public misconduct allegations from fraud investigator Barry Minkow. No regulator has announced a public enforcement action against DLP Capital or its founder, Don Wenner, as of mid-2026.
The Anthony Ruben Lawsuit
Ruben filed his complaint in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, naming both DLP Capital and Wenner. He alleged that Wenner had “falsely promised” him a share of company profits under his employment agreement, then terminated him in November 2021 before he could collect on returns from real estate deals he had helped facilitate.
The complaint carried six counts: breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, civil conspiracy, fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, and declaratory judgment. Ruben sought roughly $21.7 million in damages.
The parties settled in October 2024. Terms were not disclosed, and court records show the case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
White Law Group Investigation Into DLP Fixed Fund 3
Separate from the Ruben case, the White Law Group is investigating investor losses tied to DLP Fixed Fund 3 LLC. The fund is a privately held, closed-end real estate vehicle that DLP Capital launched in May 2022 to acquire and manage multifamily housing, primarily in Florida. It filed a Form D notice with the SEC on September 29, 2020, as an exempt offering under Rule 506 of Regulation D.
The firm’s inquiry centers on whether the brokerage firms that sold the fund conducted proper due diligence and adequately disclosed material risks. The White Law Group has identified those risks as the illiquidity of the investment, a high risk of losing some or all invested capital, limited transparency into performance and financials, and high fees that can reduce returns and create conflicts of interest.
Rather than a class action, the firm has said investors may be able to pursue individual FINRA arbitration claims against their brokerage firms. FINRA arbitration typically resolves in 12 to 16 months. The investigation is still active as of mid-2026, and the firm is offering free consultations to affected investors.
Barry Minkow’s Public Allegations
Starting in May 2025, Barry Minkow published a series of Substack posts making detailed allegations of financial misconduct against DLP Capital and Wenner. His central claims are that the firm’s advertised double-digit returns and “uninterrupted growth” are not supported by audited financial disclosures, that its cumulative loan-to-value ratio across the multifamily portfolio exceeds 100 percent (contradicting the company’s stated underwriting limits), and that DLP acts as both lender and borrower in some deals, extending loans to its own affiliates in arrangements he says are concealed from auditors.
Minkow cited three specific properties:
- Pecan Square in Houston, Texas: after a January 2025 auction sale for roughly $29 million, he alleged DLP issued a new loan of more than $40 million on the property, above what he calculated as book value.
- Prosper Riverdale in Little Rock, Arkansas: he pointed to data suggesting a book value of $1.33 million against an $8.37 million DLP loan.
- 7885 Silver Spur Circle in Memphis, Tennessee: he alleged DLP valued the 288-unit property to investors at $61.6 million despite what he described as a book value of just under $29 million.
He also challenged the company’s revenue figures, claiming that while Wenner cited revenue of “$400M+” and “$487M” in company impact reports, audited financials across all four DLP funds for 2023 totaled approximately $148 million. He characterized DLP’s practices as involving “deception, leverage, and pipedreams.”
The source matters here. Minkow is a convicted felon with a history that includes stock manipulation, and he was convicted in 2011 in a case involving homebuilder Lennar. He is subject to restitution obligations totaling $612 million. His allegations against DLP Capital have not been confirmed by any regulator, and no public enforcement action has been announced against the firm.
DLP Capital’s Response
DLP Capital held a webinar for investors in May 2025 to address Minkow’s claims “point by point,” according to participants in an online investor forum. Some attendees said they found the response satisfactory and maintained their positions; others voiced continuing concern about the opacity typical of private real estate funds and the difficulty of independently verifying the firm’s numbers.
DLP’s own materials state that as of June 30, 2025, each of its four sponsored funds has not missed fixed or preferred return targets, has had no principal losses in any period, and has met or exceeded return targets every year since inception. The Lending Fund and Preferred Credit Fund allow quarterly redemption with 90 days’ notice; the Housing Fund and Building Communities Fund allow annual redemption. No public reports of redemption freezes or withdrawal restrictions have surfaced.
Where Things Stand
The one filed lawsuit against DLP Capital is closed. The White Law Group investigation is ongoing but has not, on the public record, produced filed arbitration claims. Minkow’s allegations remain allegations. If you hold an interest in DLP Fixed Fund 3 and believe your broker misrepresented the risks, the pathway currently being discussed publicly is individual FINRA arbitration against the selling brokerage, not litigation against DLP itself.