I want to see him ‘Walk the Plank!’ (He’s former NAVY isn’t he?—-Feed da Fishes! )
They are making Prosecution EASY for us.
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Why am I not Smurf’n surprised?
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Because you’ve been paying attention! 
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Yeah, the case was bullsh!t.
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Letitia James has never been married. (Except to her father!)
She lied on her mortgage. It all began in 2001 when Letitia James purchased a four-story multi-family apartment building with five apartments in Brooklyn for $550,000.
In 2005, James refinanced the building with an adjustable loan from Aegis that started at an interest rate of 7.2% with a ceiling of 10.2%.
For the next two decades, James took out refinancing mortgages and always listed the number of units as four.
Problem is, it was a 5 unit building. This may seem a minor discrepancy, but misrepresenting the unit count enabled her to secure more favorable loans, including a 2011 Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) loan that saved her tens of thousands of dollars annually.
She has also been in violation of NYC’s “Rent Stabilization Laws” for decades.
Since purchasing a four-story apartment building at 296 Lafayette Avenue in Brooklyn in 2001, James has failed to register the property with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) as required for rent-stabilized buildings.
By failing to register, she denied her tenants the protections of rent stabilization, while collecting rents above the legally regulated amounts for 24 years.
New York City’s housing code is based on its “Rent Stabilization Law of 1969,” which was designed to shield tenants from large rent raises, unlawful deregulation, and eviction abuses. It sets yearly allowable rent increases, typically at around 3% per year. The law applies to qualifying buildings and requires landlords to register with the DHCR (Division of Housing and Community Renewal) and file annual reports on tenants, rents, and lease terms. The NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) issues Certificates of Occupancy to establish the legal number of units in properties. That designation is the one and only controlling legal authority for unit count. The three most recent Certificates of Occupancy for Letitia James’s building at 296 Lafayette Avenue are:
1961: Authorized as seven (7) family units, with the building officially designated as a “Class A Multiple Dwelling.”
1981: Two decades later, the legal unit count was reduced to four (4) apartments, reflecting an authorized combining of units.
**
2001:** This Certificate of Occupancy updated the building to a FIVE (5) FAMILY DWELLING, which remains its designation today.
The Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 said that any building constructed before January 1, 1974, with six or more apartments, is subject to “Rent Stabilization” laws.
The critical point for Letitia James is that, according to the 1961 Certificate of Occupancy, the last one before the passage of the Rent Stabilization Law in 1969, her building at 296 Lafayette Avenue had seven (7) units. This meant that when the law took effect in 1969, James’s building was permanently entered into rent stabilization program.
Once a building is subject to rent stabilization, that status “runs with the building” forever. Later reductions down to four units, or back up to five units, can never legally strip the building of its original rent stabilization regulatory status. Courts and DHCR have repeatedly emphasized that a landlord cannot deregulate a property from rent stabilization by simply reducing the number of units through alterations or new Certificates of Occupancy.
In Gersten v. 56 7th Ave. LLC (2005), New York’s highest court held that rent stabilization coverage cannot be destroyed by unilateral landlord action.
Despite her registration requirements, public records show that Letitia James has never registered 296 Lafayette Avenue with DHCR since her purchase in 2001. Nor has she filed the required annual tenant registrations for any of her building’s apartments. The consequences of James’s failure to register are significant. Under RSC § 2528.4, a landlord who fails to register may not lawfully collect any rent increases. Having never registered since 2001, any rent increases by James since 2001 were unlawful.
In fact, if James charged tenants above the last legal rent increase in 2001, they can file overcharge complaints. DHCR and the courts may impose a refund of overcharges plus 9% annual interest, plus treble damages.
Given that her apartment building has been unregistered for nearly a quarter century, the potential overcharge and penalty exposure for Letitia James is massive.
She indicts people for this type of mortgage fraud, so you’d think she would UNDERSTAND what mortgage fraud is.
By the way, this information is called PROOF, a concept you are not familiar with.
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Jimbo 0 Truth 4729. Must be hard to be near mirrors…
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