Hamptons Cheat Sheet: Corcoran broker and his lover sued for fraud, Zillow buys database … & more

Hedgie says he was defrauded by Corcoran broker and his beau

Couples that (allegedly) steal together, stay together. But this one will be tested by a $3 million fraud lawsuit.  Manhattan hedge fund exec Matthew Smith alleges in a lawsuit that Corcoran broker Jason Schommer and his contractor lover Michael Nobiletti swindled $2.5 million out of him for renovations on his Sag Harbor house by redirecting labor and building materials to their own properties on the East End. Smith bought a four-bedroom fixer-upper at 34 Jermain Avenue in 2013, according to the lawsuit, and was assured by Schommer that renovations would cost $700,000. The price tag, however, ended up tripling. Smith put two-and-two together when he found out that Nobiletti and Schommer were lovers — “to his shock and horror,” the complaint reads. [TRD]

Zillow buys the MLS of the Hamptons

Zillow now owns the yin to StreetEasy’s yang. The real estate database giant acquired the platform, Hamptons Real Estate Online, or HREO last week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it also includes software that HREO offers to real estate professionals for listing management and distribution, called RealNet and Open RealNet Exchange. HREO and StreetEasy are “intrinsically linked to one another,” StreetEasy general manager Susan Daimler said in a statement. “[T]he Hamptons and NYC. It’s a natural pairing.” Seattle-based Zillow acquired StreetEasy for $50 million in 2013, and bought out its closest competitor, Trulia.com, for $2.5 billion in 2015, after which its revenue rose by over 300 percent. [TRD]

Sagaponack Village rejects property owner’s development plan for the umpteenth time

Vengeance apparently doesn’t sit well with the Sagaponack Village Board, which denied entrepreneur Marc Goldman’s proposal to build a house on the 44-acre oceanfront lot — yet again. Goldman, through an LLC, purchased the property in 2001 and has been trying to subdivide the parcel to build a single-family residence on a three-acre section. But the Village proceeded to block him on multiple instances, he said. The tiff reached a contemptible peak in 2015 when he planted thousands of Christmas trees on the property to block the public’s view of the open farmland. The saga continued when Milton Berlinski, a minor co-owner of the property, turned in his own conflicting application to subdivide the parcel. Now that Goldman’s application was turned down, Berlinski’s will move forward. Meanwhile, the two are duking it out in court to see who has the right to subdivide the property. [27East]

Amagansett home of Late Wall Street researcher listed for $18M

Jane Rivkin, the widow of financial strategist Jack Rivkin, recently listed their Amagansett compound off Indian Wells Highway for $18 million, according to the New York Post. Spanning 6,500 square feet, the 1909-built abode contains seven bedrooms and 11.5 bathrooms. The Rivkins acquired the home for $6.5 million in 2010 and used it to host charities events for Safe Horizons, a nonprofit for victims of violence and abuse. Jack Rivkin, who died in November, was the CEO of Altegris Advisors. Town & Country’s Judi Desiderio has the listing. [NYP]

Lewis Rudin’s daughter is selling her Southampton home for $4.2M

Built in 1911 as part of painter William Merritt Chase’s Art Village in Southampton, this two-acre property has since acquired a prolific web of affiliations, thanks to its current owner, art patron Beth DeWoody. DeWoody is the daughter of real estate mogul Lewis Rudin and at one point, the executive VP of his company. Her husband is celebrity photographer Firooz Zahedi, though she was previously married to painter James DeWoody. Her stepfather was the infamous film producer David Begelman, who, amid bankruptcy, shot himself in 1995. Spanning 4,347 square feet, the house on Briar Lane contains six bedrooms, 5.5 baths, and three fireplaces, 27East reported. Gabriel Falco of Douglas Elliman has the listing. [27East]

Bridgehampton school expansion could break ground in March 2018

Students at the Bridgehampton School could attend class in the newly expanded facility as soon as fall of 2019, project architect John Grillo said at a school board meeting Tuesday. Ideally, the project would break ground a year from March, the East Hampton Star reported. The expansion, approved in a December vote, will bring a new gym, locker rooms, fitness center, cafeteria, and science, technology, and music rooms. [EHS]

Girl from Ippolita spruces up shiny Water Mill house that’s on the market for $10M

Jewelry maker Lauren Sharfman, co-founder of the brand, Ippolita, was tapped to stage a Water Mill manse that the owner hopes will fetch $9.95 million, the New York Post reported. The 7,000-square-foot Belgian-inspired home at 10 Holly Lane sits on one acre of land and includes six bedrooms and 8.5 baths. The home features indoor/outdoor entertainment areas throughout, hand-bleached wood-plank oak floors, vaulted ceilings and other custom finishes. It’s Scharfman’s second attempt at home-staging. Scott Bartlett of Douglas Elliman has the listing. [NYP]