Edward Minskoff and Joseph Moinian are jockeying for Meyer Chetrit to take the blame in a dispute with a lender.
When a lender accused a borrower linked to the three high-profile investors of self-dealing and depositing funds into accounts linked to Chetrit, it pushed for a receiver for the property. Now the receiver is saying the borrower never turned over key funds, and Moinian and Minskoff are doing everything they can to cast blame on Chetrit.
The courtroom drama is the latest obstacle for the Chetrit family, which is dealing with a $132 million judgment due to aggressive lender Maverick Real Estate Partners and criminal charges related to alleged tenant harassment.
At the heart of the case are 500 and 512 Seventh Avenue, a Manhattan office complex and home to the Chetrit Group headquarters.
The lender claimed the borrower has been self-dealing, transferring about $1 million of tenant security deposits to outside accounts. About $300,000 was transferred to accounts associated with other Chetrit projects or affiliates, according to court documents. Those include LLCs tied to the Chetrits that own property in Hollywood Beach, Florida, and townhomes at 110 and 125 East 64th Streets.
And a court-appointed receiver for the property has accused the borrower of not turning over more than $700,000 in tenant security deposits.
Moinian and Minskoff have pointed their fingers at Chetrit.
The three investors are part of a management committee that controls the borrower, according to court affirmations from Minskoff and Moinian. All material decisions need to be approved by two members — but one of them needs to be Chetrit.
“On multiple occasions, including but not limited to November 18, 2025, I requested that Meyer Chetrit return the security deposits,” reads a statement included in both Minskoff’s and Moinian’s affirmations.
Court documents also include messages between an attorney for Moinian and Minkskoff and an attorney for Chetrit. Christian Becker, an attorney with Kasowitz LLP, demanded that the Chetrits turn over the deposits to the receiver.
“As you know, Mr. Moinian and Mr. Minskoff had nothing to do with nor did they know about the alleged transfers of any security deposits,” Becker wrote.
Christopher Gorman, an attorney for Chetrit with Rosenberg & Estis, wrote back that he had forwarded the demand to his clients but that they dispute the contentions.
In a court affirmation, Gorman said Chetrit handed over about $363,000 in security deposits, which is the total amount that they possessed at that time.
Becker declined to comment. Gorman, as well as Minskoff and Moinian, did not respond to requests for comment.
The three investors are now technically being held in contempt of court for failure to release the deposits. However, correspondence from the receiver to the judge asked that the motion be withdrawn as it relates to Moinian and Minskoff.
The official borrower is 500-512 Seventh Avenue LP, which acquired the leasehold on the property in 1999 for $140 million. The entity took out a $375 million loan in 2018, which the three investors agreed to guarantee in the case of specific bad behavior by the borrower.
512 Seventh Avenue is a 45-story tower with 544,300 rentable square feet, while the 500 property is an 18-story building with 676,500 rentable square feet. 228 West 38th Street, also included on the loan, is a five-story commercial building with 10,000 rentable square feet.