Steven Croman

Steven Croman is a real estate owner, landlord and fraudster in New York City. In 1990, Croman incorporated the management and brokerage firm Croman Real Estate (later rebranded to 9300 Realty) and quickly grew his business, owning 20 buildings by the end of the decade and 140 buildings by 2016, mostly in Manhattan's East Village.[1][2][3] Croman is well-known as a result of numerous tenant harassment and fraud allegations throughout his career in real estate.[2][4]

Steven Croman
OccupationLandlord
Organization9300 Realty
Criminal chargesGrand larceny, tax fraud, and filing a false instrument
Criminal penalty8 months in prison and $5 million fine

Allegations

In 1998, Croman was listed as one of The Village Voice's 10 Worst Landlords and became known for tenant harassment.[5] By 2002, tenants had formed the Croman Tenants Coalition, and others alleging mistreatment have formed since then such as Stop Croman Coalition.[6][7] In 2014, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman began investigating 9300 Realty following accusations of tenant harassment.[8] In 2015, the tenants' rights group Cooper Square Committee found Croman to have over $1 million in unpaid Environmental Control Board (ECB) violations.[9] In 2016, Croman was charged with 20 felonies, including grand larceny, falsifying business records, scheming to defraud, offering a false instrument for filing, and criminal tax fraud.[10] In the same year, an independent civil lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan alleged tenant harassment, intentionally filing baseless lawsuits to pressure tenants out of their apartments, and incentivizing agents and employees to maximize tenant buyouts.[10]

In 2017, Croman pleaded guilty to grand larceny, tax fraud, and filing a false instrument, and was sentenced to 8 months in prison and a $5 million fine.[4][11] In the same year, the AG and Croman settled the civil lawsuit, forcing Croman to pay $8 million in restitution to tenants and hand over management of many properties to a monitor; at the time, this was the largest-ever monetary settlement with an individual landlord and largest-ever monitorship in a tenant harassment case.[12] In coordination with Attorney General Letitia James, an independent management company, New York City Management (NYCM), managed over 100 Croman-owned properties from Feb 2018 to Jan 13, 2023.[13] After suing NYCM, Croman regained management from NYCM a month early (originally the monitorship was to last through Feb 2023).[13]

In 2018, a new lawsuit alleged that Croman illegally deregulated apartments in an East Harlem building, and in 2019 this lawsuit became a class action lawsuit involving more than 100 current and former tenants.[14] Multiple other tenant-related lawsuits have also been filed since Croman's release from prison.[15]

In 2021, State Sen. Brad Hoylman introduced a bill inspired by Croman that would bar landlords convicted of fraud or violating housing laws from receiving financing from state-chartered banks.[16]

References
  1. "Steve Croman". The Real Deal New York. Archived from the original on 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  2. Voice, Village (2000-05-09). "There Goes the Neighborhood". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  3. Barker, Kim; Silver-Greenberg, Jessica (2016-05-09). "Regular on New York's 'Worst Landlords' Lists Is Charged". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  4. Barker, Kim (2017-06-06). "'Bernie Madoff of Landlords' Pleads Guilty to Fraud". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  5. Lobbia, J.A. (March 24, 1998). "The City's 10 Worst Landlords" (PDF). The Village Voice. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  6. Hevesi, Dennis (2002-07-19). "Residential Real Estate; Turning 23 Homes Into a Mansion". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  7. Wishnia, Steven (2020-02-06). "Brown Water And Gas Fumes: Some Of Steve Croman's Tenants Still Living In "A Nightmare"". Gothamist. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  8. Cameron, Christopher (2014-07-26). "AG to investigate landlord's alleged campaign of intimidation". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  9. "City levies fines, but fails to collect over half-billion from landlords". Crain's New York Business. 2016-03-27. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  10. "A.G. Schneiderman Announces 20 Felony Charges And Civil Suit Against Major New York City Landlord Steven Croman | New York State Attorney General". ag.ny.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  11. "A.G. Schneiderman Announces Jail Sentence For Major NYC Landlord Steven Croman | New York State Attorney General". ag.ny.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  12. "A.G. Schneiderman Announces Unprecedented Consent Decree With NYC Landlord Steven Croman | New York State Attorney General". ag.ny.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  13. Cavanaugh, Suzannah (2023-01-13). "Steve Croman Resumes Management Month Early". The Real Deal. Retrieved 2023-10-06.
  14. "Steven Croman | TRD Research". TRD Research | Published by The Real Deal. 2019-03-14. Archived from the original on 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  15. Rebong, Kevin (2019-09-19). "Steve Croman Goes Hard With Investments Post-Prison". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  16. Rebong, Kevin (2021-12-21). "Steve Croman-Inspired Law Would Bar Loans to Bad Landlords". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
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