Owner of Blackhawk Plaza in Danville is tangled in web of failed loans

DANVILLE — The principal owner of Blackhawk Plaza in Danville is tangled in a web of failed real estate loans in Southern California that have engulfed multiple banks and created murky prospects for the delinquent properties.

Deba Shyam, who heads up Ramanujan Group, the owner of the ailing retail and dining hub near the posh Blackhawk enclave, is a key figure, along with two other real estate executives, in a thicket of murky financing deals for at least 15 Southern California properties and one in Texas.

Zions Bancorp and its California Bank & Trust unit, along with Western Alliance Bank, filed separate lawsuits against Shyam, Andrew Stupin, Gerald Marcil, and others, claiming that they and their affiliates have breached contracts or engaged in “fraudulent concealment,” court records show.

Shyam, Stupin, and Marcil have fully denied the allegations raised by the three banks, according to court papers and at least one countersuit two of the real estate executives filed against Zions Bancorp.

The banks claim they were misled by the real estate executives into believing the lenders could use the properties as collateral for loans they provided should financing become delinquent.

Shyam, Stupin, and Marcil instead found other lenders to provide additional loans for the same properties that had already received loans from the banks that brought the lawsuits, according to court filings.

“The case arises from a sweeping betrayal of trust by sophisticated financial professional borrowers who abused California Bank & Trust’s confidence, manipulated loan structures for their own enrichment, and systematically eliminated the collateral protections that were supposed to secure the bank’s loans,” Zions Bancorp stated in the lawsuit, which was filed in October 2025.

A similar troubling pattern of initial and follow-up loans has emerged for Blackhawk Plaza, a once-thriving commercial hub that Ramanujan Group purchased in 2020 for $28.3 million.

That purchase was the start of a pattern that matched the actions by Shyam in lawsuits brought by the banks.

In 2020, Preferred Bank provided Blackhawk Plaza with a $28 million loan, Contra Costa County real estate county records show. In 2023, Preferred added a second loan totaling $3 million.

In 2024, Blackhawk Plaza landed $5 million in funding from Nano Banc.

Both Preferred Bank and Nano Banc have filed notices of default for their respective failed loans.

As a result, the Deba Shyam-led group received $36 million through the three loans, leaving it unclear as to whether Preferred Bank or Nano Banc would be able to seize ownership of Blackhawk Plaza to satisfy the delinquent financing.

The combined value of the three loans also exceeds the $28 million Ramanujan Group paid for Blackhawk Plaza by 27%.

Zions Bancorp, California Bank & Trust, and Western Alliance Bank all appear to have discovered that the loans they had provided might not have any reliable collateral until after the money was delivered to the affiliates controlled by Shyam, Marcil, and Stupin, court filings show.

“Western Alliance Bank’s independent analysis showed many of the pledged loans were junior to older, still-of-record deeds of trust,” the bank stated in its lawsuit. “To compound matters, WAB’s analysis showed that several underlying properties were already in foreclosure.”

Both Zions Bancorp and Western Alliance Bank claim the borrowers kept them in the dark about both of these key circumstances related to the conflicting and overlapping loans.

As for Blackhawk Plaza, it isn’t clear that Ramanujan Group spent much, if any, of the millions of dollars it received from its lenders to keep the center lively and thriving.

Tenants such as Draeger’s Markets have exited. Others, such as Apple Cinemas, have decided to shun the center after initially showing interest.

Blackhawk Automotive and Cultural Museum remains a lively local and regional draw for the center.

In addition to the loan default notices, a group of commercial property owners at Blackhawk Plaza have filed a lawsuit in Contra Costa County Superior Court that paints a picture of deteriorating conditions.

“Defendants (Ramanujan Group and its affiliates) have ignored maintenance and repair obligations, thus allowing the slow decay of the Plaza,” business owners stated in the court filing.

The group that is suing the property’s owner includes the Blackhawk Automotive and Cultural Museum and office building owners, court records show.

“Ever-widening cracks and potholes in parking lots, decrepit and non-functioning light stanchions, rusted and broken staircase railings, crumbling stairs, broken and inoperable irrigation pipes, unclean water, and dangerous erosion of soil” were among the problems listed at Blackhawk Plaza, the complaint states.

The lawsuit claims some of the problems appear to be life-threatening, such as “open and live wiring.” The complaint includes several photographs of deterioration and hazards.

In contrast to these current difficulties, Blackhawk Plaza was frequently touted as a top-notch shopping center when it was in pristine condition.

“The plaza is a ‘one-of-a-kind’ open-air center, which combines village-style Mediterranean architecture, an aquatic landscaped interior, and welcoming terraced vistas that attract both tourists and neighborhood residents,” Contra Costa County court papers state.