New York City’s “Bernie Madoff of landlords” has defaulted on nearly $170 million in loans — and is facing foreclosure on a whopping roughly 35 Manhattan properties, new court records show.
Steven Croman, a longtime notorious landlord and convicted fraudster — who did a stint on Rikers Island more than a decade ago — is now facing another reckoning, but this time in civil court.
A bevy of lawsuits filed recently filed against Croman in Manhattan Supreme Court claim he is in default on $168 million worth of real estate loans.
Flagstar Bank — which took over Croman’s loans from New York Community Bank after a 2022 merger — alleges that the real estate tycoon for months has failed to make payments at many of his properties, and owes millions on some of the buildings.
Croman held a massive portfolio of 140 buildings when he was busted in 2016 for filing fraudulent paperwork to receive tens of millions in illicit bank loans, according to prosecutors at the time.
Dubbed “the Bernie Madoff of landlords” by then-state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Croman was also accused of using a former NYPD officer to harass tenants into leaving their units — allowing him to jack up the rent on unwitting New Yorkers.
He pled guilty to mortgage fraud in 2017, and spent a year behind bars on Rikers Island.
Last week, Crain’s reported that Croman was being sued by Flagstar for allegedly defaulting on a $71.5 million in loans total tied to five different buildings.
But the amount Croman is alleged to be in default has since grown by nearly $100 million, according to the now-20 lawsuits filed this month.
Those include a $12.4 million loan at 209 East 25th St., a 44-unit building in Kips Bay where rents can reach nearly $5,500 a month, the bank claimed.
Croman allegedly fell two months behind on his mortgage payments on that property, totaling $493,845 — with over half due to late fees and other charges, the bank claimed in an October notice.
Flagstar is also demanding that Croman repay the full $10.37 million mortgage on 346 East 18th St. in Gramercy Park, where rents range from $7,500 to nearly $10,000 a month.
Croman allegedly fell behind on his October loan payment on that property, owing $362,332 with late fees, filings claim.
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, with arrears totaling $1.2 million at the end of October.
Earlier this year, Crain’s reported that Croman has faced a number of other foreclosure actions, with roughly an additional allegedly $45.5 million in defaults.
Lawyers for both Croman and Flagstar Bank — which is suing via an LLC called Orange Owner — did not respond to requests for comment.
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