Trending
Accused insurance fraudster lists co-op for $17M
Michael Binday bought the home as raw space in 2008
Michael Binday, who was charged last year with running a $100 million insurance fraud scheme, has listed his penthouse at 11 Riverside Drive for $16.75 million, StreetEasy shows.
Binday listed the five-bedroom, four-bathroom triplex co-op at the 658-unit Schwab House — between West 73rd and West 74th streets — yesterday. Listing brokers Lisa Lippman and Scott Moore, both senior vice presidents at Brown Harris Stevens, took the apartment off the market this morning to tweak listing photos, but said they plan to relist the unit later today.
In February 2012, Binday was indicted by federal authorities in New York for allegedly orchestrating the wide-ranging insurance fraud scheme. Binday, the owner of an insurance agency in Scarsdale, N.Y., voluntarily surrendered to authorities, while his alleged co-conspirators, insurance agents James Kevin Kergil of Peekskill, N.Y., and Mark Resnick of Orlando, were arrested, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Between 2006 and 2011, the insurance agents allegedly recruited elderly clients to apply for life insurance policies, which they sold to third-party investors at a profit.
Binday faces up to 80 years in prison, the statement said. It is unclear what his current status is, but court documents show he was released on bail shortly after he was indicted.
Binday purchased the 4,400-square-foot co-op in February 2008 for just $2.78 million, StreetEasy shows. At the time, the apartment was raw space, but Binday and his wife, Karen, completely rebuilt it, Lippman explained.
However, the Bindays sued the co-op board at the Schwab House in January 2012 in New York State Supreme Court, following a disagreement regarding their building efforts. Lippman said the case had been resolved but was unable to provide further details.
The triplex includes a library, home theater and access to five private terraces, the listing says.
The Bindays are moving to Westchester, Lippman said, though she declined to comment further.