By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
BATTERY PARK CITY — Developer Yair Levy defrauded condo owners at his troubled Rector Square project out of $7.4 million, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Levy allegedly took the money from a reserve fund meant for repairs and improvements to the 303-unit building at 225 Rector Place in Battery Park City. Levy then used the money to pay credit card bills and write checks to relatives, the attorney general’s complaint said.
“It is unconscionable that the developer pocketed a fund established to protect residents,” Cuomo said. “Today’s lawsuit sends a clear message to property developers that deception and fraud will not be tolerated. Purchasers and tenants are entitled to full and honest disclosure and must be able to rely on all representations made to them.”
Cuomo is seeking restitution and damages from Levy and also wants to stop him from selling real estate in New York State.
This is just the latest setback for Levy's Rector Square condo conversion project. Forty-five condo owners filed a similar suit against Levy last year accusing him of misusing their money. And the Anglo Irish Bank foreclosed on the building earlier this year after Levy defaulted on his $165 million mortgage.
