Richard Bassik

Property manager Richard Bassik has pleaded guilty to 13 counts of grand larceny and one charge of scheming to defraud, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced today. Through his company, Downtown Properties, Bassik stole upwards of $2.3 million from the 19 properties he managed, including several high-end co-ops and condominiums, cashing wrongfully issued checks and diverting funds from building bank accounts for his own personal use. The fraudulent activity took place between January 2005 and August 2006, primarily in Lower Manhattan buildings. Among the properties Bassik managed were a mixed-use building at 115 Spring Street and a co-op at 377 West 11th Street. Bassik was formally charged in June and faces a maximum of 15 years behind bars. TRD

[more]

JPMorgan faces appeal from West 11th Street building that Richard Bassik’s Downtown Properties manages, as criminal case continues against Bassik and his company

377 West 11th Street

JPMorgan Chase is facing an appeal from Riverbank South Owners Corp., after a state Supreme Court judge dismissed charges against the lender in an ongoing civil case against Richard Bassik, the property manager that w [more]

115 Spring Street

Richard Bassik and his firm Downtown Properties allegedly stole more
than $2.1 from the accounts of mostly residential real estate
properties that they managed [more]

A Long Island man once sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping a six-year-old boy now stands accused of embezzling almost $2 million in a real estate scam. Richard Bassik allegedly embezzled the money from several Lower Manhattan buildings that had hired his company, Downtown Properties, as a property manager, according to the New York Daily News. The Real Deal first reported in July 2009 that two buildings had sued Bassik for allegedly misappropriating funds and failing to account for rent receipts, common charges and other payments. He is now being investigated by the district attorney’s office for other cases of embezzlement. Bassik, who started Downtown Properties in 2003, has several other offenses on his record including a past indictment for holding up a motel on Long Island and perpetrating a $20,000 investment fraud. The alleged conman is now accused of draining the cash reserves of buildings on West 11th Street, Lafayette Street, and Spring Street, leaving the building owners bereft of funds. It is not yet clear which specific buildings had hired Downtown Properties. Bassik’s whereabouts are unknown.

A developer fired at the condominium tower Tempo in Kips Bay is suing an Irish home builder for reinstatement; a property manager is suing his investment partner Peter Hauspurg of Eastern Consolidated to stay on the job; and property manager Downtown Properties is sued for allegedly misappropriating money. [more]

377 West 11th Street (left) and 115 Spring Street are suing Downtown Properties.

Downtown Properties, a Manhattan-based residential management firm, is
facing at least two lawsuits alleging that it misappropriated funds and
failed to account for rent receipts, common charges and other payments. The first plaintiff, a co-op owned by Riverbank South Owners Corp.,
filed a June lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court, alleging that
Downtown Properties failed to account for $550,000 in funds. The co-op, located at 377 West 11th Street, entered a 2007 agreement
with Downtown Properties to manage its finances, according to the
lawsuit. In June 2008, Riverbank South officials deposited $1.2 million
into its Bank of America account after it refinanced its mortgage, and
one month later asked Downtown Properties to transfer $500,000 into a
certificate of deposit with NCB Bank. In an April lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court, the second
plaintiff, 115 Spring Street, alleges that at least $790,000 was
missing from the operating account for the property, a loft building
that was originally purchased by four families in 1972.  More

[more]