New dELHI, Nov. 2 -- Bankim Brahmbhatt, the Indian-origin owner of US telecom companies accused of defrauding major lenders of more than $500 million, may have gone underground, reports said. The Wall Street Journal first reported the scandal, which has rocked the US private credit market and marks another breakdown in an opaque corner of the debt markets. When an HPS Investment Partners employee visited Brahmbhatt's Garden City, New York, offices in July, they were found closed, the Journal reported. On Wednesday morning, the office suite was locked and appeared vacant, with an employee at an adjacent tenant saying she hadn't seen anyone enter or leave recently. No one answered the door at a Garden City house listed as Brahmbhatt's residence. Two BMWs, a Porsche, a Tesla and an Audi were parked in the driveway, while a package next to the front door was collecting dust, the report added. BlackRock's private credit arm HPS Investment Partners and other lenders, including BNP Paribas, have accused Brahmbhatt, owner of little-known telecom companies Broadband Telecom and Bridgevoice, of fabricating accounts receivable that were supposed to be used as loan collateral. The lenders filed suit in August, claiming Brahmbhatt's companies owe them more than $500 million. The fraud was discovered in July when an HPS employee noticed irregularities with email addresses purportedly from customers. When HPS officials asked Brahmbhatt about the irregularities, he assured them there was nothing to worry about before stopping answering their phone calls, people familiar with the matter said. Internal investigations found many email addresses didn't match up with the public web domains of the supposed customers, according to court documents. Brahmbhatt disputes the allegations of fraud, his lawyer told the Journal....