James Batmasian: Real Estate, Tax Conviction, and Pardon Bid

James Batmasian is a Boca Raton real estate developer who, with his wife Marta, built one of South Florida’s largest privately held property portfolios, served federal prison time in 2008 for failing to pay payroll taxes, and received a full presidential pardon from Donald Trump in December 2020. His career has mixed enormous commercial success with a federal conviction, a public corruption case involving a former Boca Raton mayor, and ongoing fights over downtown development.

The Real Estate Empire

Batmasian and Marta began investing in 1970 as graduate students in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where James bought his first property — a three-story apartment building — for $20,000, financed with a bank loan, seller financing, and $500 on credit cards.¹ They moved to Boca Raton in November 1983 intending to retire, abandoned that plan within two days, and founded Investments Limited. In their first 33 months in South Florida they amassed more than 36 properties.² One of their defining acquisitions was Royal Palm Place, a Federal Highway shopping center they bought largely vacant in 1988.

They are widely described as the largest private landowners in downtown Boca Raton. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s office has valued their commercial and residential holdings from Boynton Beach to Boca Raton at more than $100 million.³⁴⁵ Batmasian’s approach has centered on buying overlooked properties and holding them long-term, though in 2017 he put 33 Boston-area buildings — 444 apartments — on the market for $166 million, saying he was refocusing on Florida.⁶

Batmasian was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School, earning his J.D. and M.B.A. in 1973, and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1974.²⁷

The 2008 Federal Tax Conviction

On April 17, 2008, Batmasian pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to one felony count of willfully failing to collect and pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7202. He admitted failing to pay $253,513 in federal payroll taxes for Investments Limited employees between 2001 and 2003.⁸ On July 11, 2008, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced him to eight months in federal prison, two years of supervised release, and a $30,000 fine.⁹ He served his time in South Carolina.⁵

The Florida Supreme Court suspended his law license for three years, retroactive to August 30, 2008. The disciplinary referee cited his cooperative attitude and lack of prior disciplinary history as mitigating factors.⁹ As of a 2018 Sun Sentinel report, he remained ineligible to practice law in Florida.⁵ Batmasian has described the underlying conduct as a “clerical error” by a bookkeeper.¹

Trump Pardon and the Failed Attempt to Erase the Record

Florida Governor Rick Scott restored Batmasian’s civil rights in March 2017. On December 23, 2020, President Trump granted him a full pardon. The White House statement framed his conduct as “overtime payments without withholding for income taxes or FICA contributions” and said he “recorded all of these payments and made no attempt to hide them when confronted by IRS investigators.” The pardon was supported by U.S. Representative Brian Mast, criminal justice advocate Alice Johnson, and professional golfer Bernhard Langer.¹⁰¹¹

The pardon arrived in the same final-weeks batch of Trump clemency that included Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and Charles Kushner. Peter Cruise, chairman of the Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics, told the Palm Beach Post that “if you are wealthy and connected, and you work it, you have a better chance of getting a pardon.”¹¹

Batmasian then moved in 2021 to expunge the conviction, arguing the record hindered his charitable work. The district court denied the motion. In March 2023, the Eleventh Circuit vacated that denial and ordered the case dismissed outright, holding that federal district courts have no jurisdiction to expunge a valid conviction, pardon or no pardon.¹²¹³ The pardon forgave the offense; the record stays.

The Susan Haynie Corruption Case

The Batmasians’ financial ties to former Boca Raton Mayor Susan Haynie produced the couple’s most serious brush with local government. In 2013, Haynie sought an advisory ethics opinion on whether she could vote on matters involving the Batmasians. A Palm Beach Post investigation later revealed she had voted on projects benefiting them while her husband’s property management business, Community Reliance, collected payments from them.¹⁴

Haynie was arrested in April 2018 on charges of official misconduct, perjury, misuse of public office, and corrupt misuse of public office. Prosecutors said she cast favorable votes on Batmasian-controlled projects, including rezoning and signage approvals, while failing to report more than $330,000 in income, roughly a third of it from the couple.¹⁵ State records showed Marta Batmasian had signed $56,653 in checks to Community Reliance over four years, with an additional $84,039 in payments from the Batmasians and Investments Limited identified in 2016 and 2017.¹⁶

On April 1, 2021, Haynie pleaded guilty to two first-degree misdemeanors in exchange for dropping all four felonies. She received 12 months of probation, a $1,050 fine, 100 hours of community service, and a bar on seeking public office.¹⁵ Neither James nor Marta Batmasian was charged with a crime in connection with the case. After the scandal, Boca Raton updated its policy to require that ethics requests name the official, identify the potential conflict, and be made public.¹⁴

Other Lawsuits and Political Donations

In 2014, two former employees filed suits that drew heavy attention. Former leasing agent Karla Sotomayor alleged sexual harassment, discrimination, and a hostile work environment in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. Former chief financial officer James Baker filed a whistleblower suit claiming he was fired in May 2013 after reporting what he called “rampant mortgage, wire, financial, accounting and tax fraud,” and asserting the IRS was seeking $6 million in payroll back taxes from the Batmasians.¹⁷¹⁸⁵

Both Batmasians are prolific political donors who have shifted sharply toward Republican causes. Federal records show James gave $1.75 million to the Principles Over Politics super PAC in 2022, $750,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund, and more than $219,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee in the same cycle.¹⁹ In 2012, Marta paid $50,000 to attend the private Mitt Romney fundraiser at the home of Marc Leder where Romney made his “47 percent” remarks about Americans who do not pay federal income taxes.²⁰ In 2014, Governor Rick Scott canceled a fundraiser scheduled at Batmasian’s home after it became public that the host was a felon.¹⁷

Current Development Fights in Boca Raton

The Batmasians’ most contested recent project is Mizner Plaza, a proposed 12-story, two-tower, 219-room hotel with about 30,800 square feet of restaurant and retail space on Northeast Second Street, just south of Mizner Park. Originally filed in July 2023 as an 11-story, 266-room hotel, the plan was scaled down after neighbors objected.²¹ An early version sought to acquire a city-owned parking lot for free; city staff recommended a $2.4 million sale price, and an attorney for the neighboring Tower 155 condominium cited a $3.3 million appraisal and called the deal a “giveaway.” The Batmasians later dropped the land purchase entirely and shrank the project.²²

On March 23, 2026, the Boca Raton Community Redevelopment Agency approved the revised project 4-1, with Council Member Marc Wigder dissenting over safety and cost concerns tied to the underground parking garage.²³ The approval granted a parking deviation, allowing 328 underground spaces instead of the 557 required by code.²⁴ The vote came weeks after Boca Raton voters rejected a separate downtown redevelopment plan called “One Boca” by roughly 75%, and after a slate of slow-growth candidates aligned with the “Save Boca” movement won office. The outgoing council took the Mizner vote before the new members were seated.²⁵

Separately, the Planning and Zoning Board approved plans in February 2026 for a 12-story, 137-room hotel inside Royal Palm Place, scaled back from 144 rooms over construction costs. The project adds a seven-story, 501-space parking garage, and Batmasian has asked the city to cut the required parking across the entire Royal Palm Place property from 2,099 to 1,147 spaces.²⁶

Philanthropy and Its Reception

The Batmasians operate the James H. and Marta T. Batmasian Family Foundation, which they say supports more than 65 organizations working on education, community programs, and homelessness. In 2004 they founded PROPEL (People Reaching Out to Provide Education and Leadership) for underprivileged youth, and they have backed the Children’s Science Explorium and the Walk of Recognition in Boca Raton.²⁷ In 2023 they gave $1 million to Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s capital campaign.²⁸

Not all of the giving has been accepted. After the 2008 conviction, Florida Atlantic University turned down a $1 million donation from Batmasian, and a homelessness nonprofit he had founded removed him from its board.¹

1
The Real Deal. James Batmasian’s Complicated Legacy
2
Investments Limited. At the Helm
3
Palm Beach Post. Sex, Tax Fraud Claims Made Against Batmasian
4
Investments Limited. Investments Limited
5
Sun Sentinel. Batmasian Real Estate Empire in Unwanted Glare of Boca Mayor Probe
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Boston Globe. Major Landlord Says Boston-Area Buildings Are Again for Sale
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The Florida Bar. Disciplinary Actions
8
U.S. Department of Justice. Batmasian Plea Press Release
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Florida Supreme Court. SC08-1445, Report of Referee
10
Trump White House Archives. Statement Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency
11
Palm Beach Post. Ex-Commissioner Mary McCarty, Boca’s James Batmasian Pardoned by Trump
12
FindLaw. United States v. Batmasian, No. 21-12800
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U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. United States v. Batmasian, Opinion
14
Boca Magazine. End Ties Between Haynie and the Batmasians
15
The Real Deal. Ex-Boca Mayor Pleads Guilty in Public Corruption Case
16
Palm Beach Post. Developer Batmasian, Who Paid Boca Mayor, May Have Committed Perjury
17
Palm Beach Post. Sex, Tax Fraud Claims Made Against Batmasian
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Palm Beach Post. Ex-Batmasian Employees End Lawsuits That Alleged Fraud, Sex Claims
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OpenSecrets. Donor Lookup – Boca Raton
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Mother Jones. Romney 47 Percent Fundraiser: James Batmasian Tax Evasion
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The Real Deal. Boca Raton to Vote on Batmasians’ Mizner Plaza Proposal
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The Coastal Star. Boca Raton: Batmasians File New Downtown Tower Proposal
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CBS 12. Boca Raton Council Approves Controversial Mizner Plaza Hotel Project in 4-1 Vote
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The Real Deal. Batmasians’ Mizner Plaza Hotel Scores Approval in Boca Raton
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Sun Sentinel. Boca Raton Voters Reject Downtown Redevelopment Plan
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The Real Deal. James Batmasian Gets Green Light for Royal Palm Plaza Hotel
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Boca Magazine. Batmasian Family Foundation Matching Donations Up to $150K
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Baptist Health. James and Marta Batmasian Make Gift to Boca Raton Keeping the Promise Campaign