A mortgage brokerage firm is suing Waterbridge Capital CEO Joel Schreiber for allegedly bilking it out of a $700,000 fee for arranging a loan for the purchase of a large downtown Los Angeles development site.
The brokerage, New York-based Estreich & Company, says it secured a $140 million loan for Schreiber’s team to help fund the acquisition of the Broadway Trade Center.
The firm was cut out of the deal at the last minute, however, because it did not possess a California real estate license, according to the complaint, filed Tuesday in New York Supreme Court.
Schreiber and partners Jackie Jangana and Joyce Jangana-Reiss, who are also named as defendants, picked up the 1.1 million square foot former department store for $125 million in April, with plans to convert it to a mixed-use development.
Estreich contends that after the loan closed, the defendants repeatedly acknowledged the firm’s right to the consulting fee but never made the payment.
Estreich is also suing Canpartners Realty Holding Company and Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, which provided the loan.
A representative at Waterbridge Capital said the firm had no comment on the suit.
The other defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.
Estreich is represented in the case by Joshua Kopelowitz and Dani Schwartz of Rosenberg & Estis PC. Neither were immediately available for comment.