Kushner Companies Violated Multiple Laws in Massive Tenant Dispute, Judge Rules

[riversedge]

Source: proPublica.org


Judge finds Kushner-owned management company charged "deceptive" fees to thousands of tenants, in lawsuit filed after ProPublica found widespread problems in their apartments.


by Alec MacGillis May 5, 5 a.m. EDT



It’s been six years since Dionne Mont first saw her apartment at Fontana Village, a rental housing complex just east of Baltimore. She was aghast that day to find the front door coming off its hinges, the kitchen cabinet doors stuck to their frames, mouse droppings under the kitchen sink, mold in the refrigerator, the toilet barely functioning and water stains on every upstairs ceiling, among other problems. But she had already signed the lease and paid the deposit.

Mont insisted that management make repairs, but that took several months, during which time she paid her $865 monthly rent and lived elsewhere. She was hit with constant late fees and so-called “court” fees, because the management company required tenants to pay rent at a Walmart or a check-cashing outlet, and she often couldn’t get there from her job as a bus driver before the 4:30 p.m. cutoff. She moved out in 2017.


Four years later, Mont has received belated vindication: On April 29, a Maryland judge ruled that the management company, which is owned by Jared Kushner’s family real estate firm, violated state consumer laws in several areas, including by not showing tenants the actual units they were going to be assigned to prior to signing a lease, and by assessing them all manner of dubious fees. The ruling came after a 31-day hearing in which about 100 of the company’s current and former tenants, including Mont, testified.

“I feel elated,” said Mont. “People were living in inhumane conditions — deplorable conditions.”......................

Read more: https://www.propublica.org/article/kushner-companies-violated-multiple-laws-in-massive-tenant-dispute-judge-rules?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter#1065824

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Link to tweet

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[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. Not to worry. I'm sure the toilets in the Kushners' FL mansion work just fine, thank you.

And, they are untouched by the low-classed butts of Secret Service agents, who get to use the facilities at a nearby Mobil station.

Kushner, Inc, may have to pay some kind of fine, but the tenants will still suffer, and the Kushners will still lead a fabulous life style.

Sleep well, knowing the Kushners are thriving. And not in prison.

[jimfields33]

2. Yep. Fine at most.

Plus I thought finally Jared will get what’s coming to him. Nope it’s a family business. He’ll just say he had nothing to do with it since he was “busy” at the White House.

[left-of-center2012]

3. Didn't the Kushner's just buy a multi-million dollar estate?

In florida, near Donnie.

[Ford_Prefect]

4. Doesn't it make you wonder about the terms of the mortgage?

Surely they didn't pay cash... Or did someone else help them out?

[former9thward]

13. They probably paid cash.

Kuchner and Ivanka are worth $1.1 billion.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ivanka-trump-jared-kushner-net-worth-2019-1

[Ford_Prefect]

14. 1st rule of business is never own what you can afford to lease. I doubt even they paid for it.

Some third, forth or fifth party owns it like a shell, inside a shell, inside a shell for taxes if no other reason. I suspect their worth is much like the former guy's; more on paper and rumor than genuine. Not that they are wanting for cash but IMO they learned at the feet of the master fraudster. If they truly have that much why are they wasting their time in FLA? No matter what they have paid for it tides will rise on that island.

[former9thward]

16. Well when business magazines like Forbes, etc. rank rich people,

as they do every year, I don't pick and choose who I am going to believe. Either these magazines know what they are doing when they rank or they don't. If they don't, and it is just made up, then we can't believe any of the rankings -- Gates, Musk, any of them.

[Ford_Prefect]

17. I take your point about Forbes in general. However, Daddy fooled them for years and they

ranked him quite confidently. If he's fooled the guys they listen to why couldn't Kushner do the same?

[former9thward]

19. How do you know he fooled them?

There has been nothing showing their estimates of his worth was wrong. All sorts of allegations but absolutely nothing which disputes it.

[Ford_Prefect]

20. Evidently you dispute the views of those in the SDNY office now in possession of his tax records.

They are pursuing a line of inquiry as to how much debt Trump hid in the process of financing his "empire". The good people at Forbes would likewise have been unaware of it and could not have guessed how much financial sand the empire stood on since they had no access to those records either. They use publicly available records and so far as I am aware have no secret pipeline into the FBI, SEC, or IRS.

Debt is part of net wealth as I am sure you must be aware. The big con has always been about blinding everyone to Trump's personal and financial weaknesses while projecting a false image of inflated status and ability. Fooling Forbes or anyone else in the investment world was part of that con. Just ask any of the U.S. banks who refused to service his debts.

Kushner built his finances while working in Trump's machine and later his regime. I find it very unlikely he did not profit by the same methods as dad-in-law.

[former9thward]

21. The SDNY has made no statement on anyone's net worth.

Nothing. And what you have posted about what they are doing is pure speculation. They have made no statements about they may be doing. So, no, I don't dispute views that are unknown.

[Lonestarblue]

5. People like Kushner disgust me--getting rich on the backs of the poor.

Our laws need to change to better protect tenants and require landlords to maintain properties to a state of at least adequate living conditions, with not just fines but felony charges for failing to do so. Given Trump’s ability to pay no federal taxes for years, the whole real estate tax laws also need to change. Evidently, our real estate tax laws are the best money can buy to help billionaires avoid taxes.

[George II]

6. Back in 1980 I moved into a studio apartment in a renovated building in Manhattan. I was told....

....that everything would be finished by the time I moved in. Well, they didn't install the folding doors in the kitchen and didn't do a couple of other minor things. I kept leaving the manager notes, and he'd leave one saying "the doors came in yesterday, we'll do it tomorrow", yadda yadda. This went on for a couple of months - I had about a dozen notes, no work done.

Finally I left him a note saying I wouldn't pay anymore rent until the doors and other things were completed (but I kept the rent aside) I got a few late notices and late fees, and then a few months later I got an eviction notice along with an order to appear in court.

I kept all the manager's notes and marched into court armed with them. When my case came up, I gave the notes to the judge and explained what had been going on. He read them, thought a minute or two, then turned to the manager. "You have seven days to install the doors and do the other work." Then he turned to me, "if everything isn't completed by next week, call ME at this number!"

The next day when I got home from work everything had been done.

[riversedge]

11. moral of story. keep your receipts.

[Hekate]

18. Damn straight

[twodogsbarking]

7. There may be honest people in the real estate business

but then again, maybe not.

[msfiddlestix]

8. Does the article mention how much in reimbursements and damages owed to tenants?

I'm just curious if the ruling also included that, because if it didn't then he gets off with a finger wag and the grifting life for the Kushners just continues.

[riversedge]

12. Raw Story: "Both sides have 30 days to respond to Daneker's decision before the state's Consumer Pro

Kushner company broke numerous laws by ripping off tenants: Judge's 252-page decision
Igor Derysh, Salon
May 06, 2021

https://www.rawstory.com/jared-kushner-companies/
...........

Both sides have 30 days to respond to Daneker's decision before the state's Consumer Protection Division issues a final order, which could include penalties or restitution. Frosh has estimated that Kushner's companies may be on the hook for millions in damages.

Kushner Companies, which recently announced it would sell half its apartments in the Baltimore area, including some mentioned in the lawsuit, framed Daneker's decision as a win.

"Kushner respects the thoughtful depth of the Judge's decision, which vindicates Westminster with respect to many of the Attorney General's overreaching allegations," Christopher Smith, an attorney for the company, told the Baltimore Sun.

[msfiddlestix]

15. Interesting bit on judge's decision

"Kushner respects the thoughtful depth of the Judge's decision, which vindicates Westminster with respect to many of the Attorney General's overreaching allegations," Christopher Smith, an attorney for the company, told the Baltimore Sun.

Interesting bit there.. Kushner respects the Judge's decisions regarding the AG's "overreaching allegations" ..

hmm.

[Initech]

9. I'm shocked, SHOCKED! Well, not that shocked.

[halfulglas]

10. Kushner even harms people who don't live in his buildings.

Back in I think 2016 or 2017 I think it was the Baltimore Sun ran an article about the Trump's son-in-law low Baltimore profile until then but bringing attention to his properties and his management company. Since there has been no much shit published about Trump and his rotten family since, I can't remember exactly when it ran. It profiled this lady who had lived in rental housing all her life, worked hard and finally saved up enough for the down payment on a house. One of her life's dreams. Something of her very own. She found a good deal on a house and talked to her landlord and he agreed to release her from her lease. Unfortunately she never got the release in writing or if she did she didn't think to keep it. Some time later she gets a summons in the mail taking her to court. It turns out Kushner and his company was buying up a lot of Baltimore properties and had bought up her old apartment building. They were suing her for back rent from the lease she hadn't completed along with interest. They did this to the old landlord's tenants because unpaid rents are assets in a sale and they were dunning every tenant who had moved out before their lease ended. She had supposedly been sent previous bills but had never received them since the move. Now I don't know if it still is, but Baltimore used to be known as most friendly to landlords, especially if you weren't represented by an attorney. So between the back rent because she had no proof her original landlord had released her and the huge interest payments on that and court fees, etc, this lady lost her house. I wanted to cry for her. Just about every time Kushner is in the news, and especially with his grift on the covid supplies, I think of this woman who had a decent job, followed all the rules and lost everything she had saved for.