Swig is accusing Macklowe of forgery

Kent Swig is accusing fellow real estate titan and former father-in-law Harry Macklowe of forgery, the Daily Mail reported.

Swig claims in a lawsuit that Macklowe endorsed insurance checks that he and his estranged wife, Elizabeth, received for water damage to Their 740 Park Avenue apartment. Macklowe signed Kent’s name to collect $270,000 in claims.

Elizabeth Swig now has possession of the apartment, but Kent Swig maintains that the insurance policy is still in both of their names and that he should receive half of the payout.

The court documents, filed in New York last month, claim that Macklowe forged Swig’s signature to pay himself back for a loan that he had given him before the separation.

Macklowe denies all the allegations.

Swig has been accused of forgery himself. As The Real Deal previously reported, Elizabeth Swig accused her husband of forging her signature in 2011 on a letter of credit to rescue a $30 million nursing home deal that he was backing in Southampton.

Elizabeth also claimed that the forgery allowed Swig to use the shares at Their 740 Park Avenue co-op as collateral to protect the deal against delays and cost overruns. [Daily Mail] —Christopher Cameron