An Indian-origin realtor in Florida Venkatesh Yerramsetty found himself in a tricky situation after several media personalities and podcasters claimed that he was making a Muslim city as part of a larger plan of Muslim takeover of Florida, where Sharia law would be imposed. He approached the court as he started receiving threats and clarified that he is a Hindu of Indian origin. He also sought more than $50,000 in damages as he sued the Indian River County Republican Party and 10 others for defamation.
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Epic Estates and Epic City
His company Epic Estates owns more than 7,100 acres in the county. During a county meeting on September 9, 2025, Yerramsetty announced his intentions to develop Epic Estate's agricultural land for residential use. Residents mixed up the name of his company with 'Epic (East Plano Epic Center) City', an Islamic-centered community proposed in northern Texas.
In November, a Republican meeting hosted conservative influencer and defendant Joann Binford, who spread conspiracy theories about Epic Estates as a featured speaker for the county Republican Executive Committee, the lawsuit said. The Republican Executive Committee, Notargiacomo and Binford "conspired to defame Epic Estates," the lawsuit claims, culminating in the "coordinated publication of a fake planning and zoning committee notice."
One homeowner, Dennis Michael Lynch, a conservative media figure and former Fox News contributor, encouraged residents to protest "huge plans for 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 the existence of any plans for a "Muslim Epic City."
"When Muslims come in, they open a mosque, they open schools" and "eventually take over a town," Lynch said on social media, later that night. "I've been around long enough. I know what the Muslim plan is."
