A New York City man pleaded guilty for his role in a conspiracy to fraudulently acquire multifamily and commercial properties.
Boruch “Barry” Drillman was accused of conspiring with at least four others to deceive lenders into issuing $165 million in multifamily and commercial mortgage loans between 2018 and 2020. Drillman and his co-conspirators provided the lenders with fictitious documents, including purchase and sale contracts with inflated purchase prices.
Drillman managed BRC Williamsburg Holdings LLC, which purchased multifamily property Williamsburg of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Troy Technology Holdings LLC, which purchased commercial property Troy Technology Park in Troy, Michigan. In March 2019, Williamsburg of Cincinnati was acquired for $70 million – but Drillman and his co-conspirators from Rhodium Capital Advisors presented a stolen identity to a lender and Fannie Mae with a purchase and sale contract for $95.85 million and other fraudulent documents. On March 8, 2019, Madison Title Agency performed two closings, one for the true $70 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $95.85 million sales price presented to the lender.
In September 2020, Troy Technology Park was acquired for $42.7 million. Drillman and his co-conspirators presented the lender with a fraudulent purchase and sale contract for $70 million, as and they also provided the lender and appraiser a fraudulent letter of intent to purchase the property from another party for $68.8 million and other fraudulent documents. To conceal the fraudulent nature of the transaction, Drillman and his co-conspirators arranged for a short-term $30 million loan, which was used to make it appear that they had the funds needed to close on the loan. On Sept. 25, 2020, Riverside Abstract performed two closings, one for the true $42.7 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $70 million sales price presented to the lender.
Drillman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
