After a pre-sentencing hearing on Thursday, landlord Daniel Melamed was sent to jail for 20 days where he will wait for a Feb. 14 sentencing for his previous convictions of mortgage fraud, unlawful eviction and other felony charges.
But the New York Post reported that Melamed tried to buy his way out of the slammer stint by offering the Brooklyn Supreme Court an extra $250,000 in restitution, that in addition to $200,000 he already offered as part of the 20-day jail agreement.
“The sentence is more imposed as symbolic,” Judge Danny Chun reportedly said as he waived off the deal pitched by Melamed’s attorney.
Melamed is scheduled to be sentenced next month for two separate convictions. In November, he pleaded guilty to 13 counts of mortgage fraud and forged document charges after he admitted to misleading the Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as banks in order to obtain loans and buy and sell properties in Brooklyn. In June, Melamed was found guilty of unlawfully evicting rent stabilized tenants 1578 Union Street in Crown Heights.
“Daniel Melamed swindled taxpayers and harassed tenants in order to line his own pockets. Now he’s in jail,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement. “My office will use every tool we have to bring bad landlords to justice.”
In October, Manhattan landlord Steve Croman was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading guilty to mortgage and tax fraud charges. He will also have to pay. [NYP] — Will Parker