A restructuring specialist tasked with cleaning up Yoel Goldman’s mess has reported more misdeeds by the former Brooklyn landlord.
As Goldman’s All Year Holdings ran into financial trouble and risked defaulting on $800 million in Israeli bonds, the developer allegedly inflated his cash holdings, according to a new filing by restructuring officer Asaf Ravid in bankruptcy court.
Goldman in 2019 took on a $36 million line of credit with UBS Bank without the knowledge of All Year’s board. The line of credit was secured by a senior lien on All Year’s assets. Goldman never recorded the liability, making it appear that All Year had more cash than it really did.
Even worse, All Year did not have the funds to repay the line of credit.
Goldman resorted to borrowing from others, piling on more debt, backed by confessions of judgment, to repay the line of credit without telling his board, according to Ravid’s filing.
Goldman went even further to inflate financials, the filing shows. In September 2020, All Year, under Goldman’s control, claimed a $17.8 million rent receivable asset. But Ravid alleges there was no certainty All Year could collect on that rent.
The filing is part of the wind-down of Goldman’s imploded firm.
Once one of the largest property owners in North Brooklyn, All Year filed for bankruptcy in 2021. Restructuring officers took control of it that year after they discovered Goldman allegedly made payments on loans he had personally guaranteed — protecting himself rather than the company.
Most of All Year’s assets were eventually sold in 2023 to a group led by nursing home owner Avi Philipson.
Ravid’s allegations reveal more details about Goldman’s bizarre management of his vast real estate empire, which included walkups, a luxury rental called the Denizen and a 50 percent stake in the William Vale hotel complex. Goldman also controlled a management company, All Year Management.
Now that Ravid has sold off most of the assets, he appears to be focused on pursuing funds owed to All Year.
All Year alleges Goldman’s syndicator Yoel Silberstein, a friend from his yeshiva days and neighbor, owes All Year millions of dollars. The company alleges All Year in 2018 lent him $3.35 million but Silberstein didn’t repay the loan when it matured in 2019 — and still hasn’t. Interest has pushed the debt above $6 million.
Silberstein and Goldman have argued in court that the money was not a loan, but was given to Silberstein for his work on deals he sourced for Goldman, including the Albee Square, North Flats, Long Island City and 19 Kent deals.
“He was more or less the syndicator, and he was pretty much involved in every step of the way by the construction, by the planning, by every issue,” said Goldman in a deposition.
Silberstein also claimed the $3.35 million note was actually money owed to him.
“In my mind, it was basically my money that he gave me in a loaned way, but … it was never [an] actual loan. When we settled it, [Goldman] bolded out that, ‘Look, you have officially a loan from me.’ I said, ‘The loan is my money.’”
Goldman and Ravid did not return requests to comment.
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