House in New York for $ 50 thousand: a Brooklyn resident bought housing in the city for a pittance

Yuval Golan is hailed as "Brooklyn's smartest businessman." But at the same time, he is also accused of fraud and deceiving vulnerable New Yorkers, writes NY Daily News.

Golan, the owner of expensive homes in Kings County, has been sued at least five times since 2005 for allegedly taking advantage of weaknesses and lack of information from home sellers.

The 44-year-old Golan often targeted vulnerable elderly people, whom he persuaded to sign home sales contracts without lawyers. At the same time, he offered obscenely low prices for expensive houses.

“Yuval deceives people,” said Ellen Harris. She and her brother filed a lawsuit against Golan in an attempt to save their home in Borum Hill. - If you are in any way vulnerable, he will hit this place. He looks very cute, but this is just a gimmick. "

Her brother Anthony Harris sold his half of their childhood home to Golan in 2014 for $ 700. But the man claims that Golan still owes him $ 000 for a property with an estimated value of $ 400 million.

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“I am sincerely convinced that I was used,” Harris said.

Golan's lawyer Garfield Heslop says Harris signed a "money-for-purchase mortgage." This allows Golan to pay out $ 700 in increments.

House for 50 thousand dollars

In another 2019 case, Golan bought a house on Prospect Heights for $ 50. Moreover, its estimated cost is $ 3,6 million. Judge Margarita Lopez-Torres declared the deal null and void. The judge dismissed the buyer's claim to receive the home from the woman who had previously inherited the property.

On his website, Golan writes: “Unlike other buyers, we will pay you the large sums that your property is worthy of. We offer a purchase price that is consistent with prevailing market prices. ”

But in reality, everything turns out differently. The court revoked Golan's ownership of the Crown Heights home in 2018. He returned the property to its previous owner after Golan purchased a third of the nearly $ 2 million building from a terminally ill woman for only $ 10.

Golan went bankrupt in 2019

A law enforcement source said Golan's deals cannot be fully considered crimes, as sellers voluntarily sign contracts. And simply for the low price that the seller agrees to, the buyer cannot be sent to jail.

The Golan victims are going to civil courts because they realized they should have sold their homes for a lot of money. But since the deal was voluntary and their signatures are real, there is no crime.

“There is not a drop of credible evidence that my client acted in any way other than with good business sense,” Heslop said.

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Despite all of his lucrative deals, Golan filed for bankruptcy in 2019 over his divorce from his wife. A lawyer for one of the parties alleged that Golan allegedly hid millions of dollars in real estate owned by corporations.

But Golan's lawyer insisted it was just part of his business acumen.

«Donald Trumpwho is the smartest of all businessmen, has repeatedly filed for bankruptcy, ”Heslop said, comparing the Golan to the president.