Brooklyn District Lawyer Eric Gonzalez introduced Monday that Svetlana Katzevman had been indicted for allegedly promoting her Gravesend house complicated in a Russian-language newspaper, and charging renters between $700 and $2,300 for deposits and lease.
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A Brooklyn lady has been charged with defrauding potential tenants out of 1000’s of {dollars} in a rental scheme, The Actual Deal reported Tuesday. Victims, a number of of whom had been Ukrainian refugees, paid safety deposits and lease, solely to search out the doorways locked after they arrived on the complicated.
Brooklyn District Lawyer Eric Gonzalez introduced Monday that Svetlana Katzevman had been indicted for allegedly promoting her Gravesend house complicated in a Russian-language newspaper and charging renters between $700 and $2,300 for deposits and lease. Katzevman collected almost $16,000 from victims between January 2022 and July 2024.
In accordance with Gonzalez, many victims said that Katzevman claimed to supply reductions as a fellow Ukrainian.
When renters arrived on the Brooklyn complicated at 1800 Ocean Parkway, they had been unable to entry the models or contact Katzevman. Regardless of dwelling within the complicated herself, Katzevman failed to offer leases to the tenants, Gonzalez alleged.
“This defendant is accused of exploiting the trust and vulnerability of her neighbors, many of whom are newly arrived immigrants seeking stability in a new country,” Gonzalez mentioned in an announcement obtained by The Actual Deal.
Among the many victims had been a a 38-year-old man who paid $1,400 for the deposit and first month’s lease, a 40-year-old who handed over a $1,600 money deposit and a 65-year-old lady who paid a $2,300 deposit in April.
The case highlights a broader challenge of rising rental-related fraud. Fraud allegations reached an all-time excessive in July, with 5 landlords in Cincinnati; Hartford, Connecticut; and Little Rock, Arkansas, pleading responsible to federal fraud expenses since January.
To forestall renter fraud, software program firm 100 launched a partnership in October with identification verification platform CLEAR to introduce the Verified Renter Community. This technique simplifies and secures rental purposes by integrating superior screening processes with identification verification.
In the meantime, landlords additionally face rising scrutiny in regard to the upkeep of their properties. In March, a New York landlord was issued a warrant citing hazardous situations at his properties and confronted as much as 60 days in jail for failing to handle points comparable to lead paint, mildew and pest infestations.
