A Florida man of Indian descent is suing over a bogus conspiracy against him.
An Indian-origin Florida real estate broker, Venkatesh Yeramsetty, found himself in a tough spot after several media personalities and podcasters claimed that he was building an Islamic city as part of a larger plan for an Islamic takeover of Florida, where Sharia law would be imposed.
He went to court when he started receiving threats and explained that he was a Hindu of Indian origin. He also sought more than $50,000 in damages when he sued the Indian River County Republican Party and 10 others for defamation.
Epic real estate And an epic city
His company, Epic Estates, owns more than 7,100 acres in the county. During the district meeting on September 9, 2025, Yeramcity announced its intention to develop Epic Estate’s farmland for residential use.
Residents confused his company’s name with “Epic (East Plano Epic Center) City,” a community with a proposed Muslim hub in North Texas.A Republican meeting in November hosted conservative influencer and defendant Joan Benford, who spread conspiracy theories about Epic Estates as a featured speaker for the county Republican Executive Committee, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit alleges that the GOP Executive Committee, Notargiacomo and Benford, “conspired to discredit Epic Estates,” culminating in the “coordinated publication of a false Planning and Zoning Commission notice.”
“One homeowner, Dennis Michael Lynch, a conservative media personality and former Fox News contributor, encouraged residents to protest “huge plans to build a massive mosque and Mecca-like community in Vero Beach” at a January 22 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.Indian River County officials at the meeting denied any plans to create an “Islamic epic city.”“When Muslims come, they open a mosque, they open schools,” Lynch said on social media later that night. “And in the end they take over a town.” “I’ve been here long enough. I know what the Muslims’ plan is.”