Madoff Of NYC Landlords Defaults On $170 Million Of Loans. Steven Croman Now Faces Foreclosure On 35 Manhattan Properties

Steven Croman aka “the Bernie Madoff of NYC landlords” has defaulted on nearly $170 million in loans. Court documents show he is now facing foreclosure on rougly 35 Manhattan properties. 

Croman is a longtime notorious landlord and convicted fraudster. He did a stint on Rikers Island more than a decade ago. Now, he is facing another reckoning in civil court.

Severl lenders have filed lawsuits against Croman in Manhattan Supreme Court. They claim he is in default on $168 million worth of real estate loans.

Croman initially took the loans from Flagstar Bank. Flagstar sold the debt last month to a new lender named Orange Owner LLC. 

They allege that the real estate tycoon has failed to make payments for months on many of his properties.  

A Manhattan court  convicted Croman of mortgage fraud in 2016. A Manhattan jury found him guilty of filing fraudulent paperwork to receive tens of millions in illicit bank loans. At the time, Croman held a massive portfolio of 140 buildings. 

Former NY AG Eric Schneiderman dubbed him “the Bernie Madoff of landlords.”

The Manhattan DA also accused Croman of using a former cop to harass long time tenants into leaving their units. This allowed him to jack up the rent on unwitting New Yorkers.

He pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud in 2017. The court sentenced him to a year behind bars on Rikers Island.

Croman’s largest default is $21.4 million for a pair of Christopher Street buildings in the West Village. That suit claims the convicted fraudster ceased making payments back in August. The suit also says arrears totaled $1.2 million at the end of October. 

Crain’s reports Orange Owner, LLC was suing Croman for defaulting on a total of $71.5 million on five different buildings.

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