Two Years Later, Brandon Miller Fallout Still Ripples

The fallout from Brandon Miller’s death is still rippling through his real estate empire with a stalled Nolita development tangled in a broader fight over creditors, unpaid obligations and questions about the late developer’s finances.

Miller’s estate, widow Candice Miller and Real Estate Equities Corporation remain locked in disputes with lenders, insurers and development partners more than two years after his death, according to court filings.

The most consequential fight may be with BMO Bank, which loaned Miller $11.3 million in January 2024. More than $9 million remains outstanding and the Chicago lender is questioning whether brokerage statements Miller provided to secure the unsecured loan accurately reflected his wealth.

According to BMO, a February 2024 UBS statement provided by Miller showed roughly $26 million in the account. A version later submitted by Candice Miller as administrator of his estate showed only about $482,000. BMO said the discrepancies raise questions about whether Miller submitted fraudulent statements or whether money was improperly transferred.

The bank is seeking additional UBS records dating to September 2023, a request Miller’s attorneys are challenging as overly broad.

The financial questions add another layer of uncertainty to Miller’s stalled projects, including a planned redevelopment at 156-166 Bowery Street. Before his death, Miller was negotiating with business partner Mark Seigel and Kinsmen Property Group’s Ari Zagdanski to transform the stalled life sciences project into apartments.

After Miller’s death, Seigel said he and Zagdanski continued discussing the redevelopment, including bringing SK Development into the project. Seigel said he understood that REEC’s demolition obligations under the ground lease would be modified, only to receive a default notice days later for failing to begin demolition.

Zagdanski subsequently sued REEC, claiming more than $5.3 million in back rent, demolition costs, tax reimbursements and liens. That case remains unresolved.

Separately, Westchester Fire Insurance sued Miller’s estate, Candice Miller and REEC over a $150,000 payout tied to a mechanic’s lien bond on a Harlem project.

The disputes underscore how quickly Miller’s development pipeline unraveled after his death and how difficult it has been to untangle the financial commitments behind it. While some of his properties are moving forward under, the legal and financial debris from REEC’s projects continues to follow the estate.

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Pinnacle sells $128M condo portfolio

Pinnacle Group sold 743 New York apartments and parking spaces for $128 million. Most of the properties are in Queens, but some were in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Proceeds from the sale will go toward paying off Pinnacle’s lender, Axos Capital, and bondholders.

Pinnacle most recently made headlines for auctioning off thousands of mostly rent-stabilized apartments through bankruptcy.

AG James hits SME Capital over neglected Hudson Yards condos

SME Capital Ventures will pay more than $700,000 to resolve allegations that it neglected its responsibilities and failed to pay fees at the 441 West 37th Street condo building it acquired through a foreclosure auction.

The settlement requires the firm to cover $523,000 in outstanding monthly fees, reimburse residents for costs related to renewing the building’s certificate of occupancy, pay a $54,000 penalty and fund necessary repairs to the fire suppression system.

An investigation by the Attorney General, initiated in 2024 following resident complaints, also addressed claims that the firm failed to notify the state of its takeover and neglected to transfer control of the condo board to homeowners.

Josh Schuster sentenced to 4 years federal prison for $13M Ponzi scheme

Josh Schuster was sentenced to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for orchestrating a $13 million Ponzi scheme.

U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni denied Schuster’s request for home confinement and questioned the sincerity of his remorse, citing his continued display of a lavish lifestyle despite his claims of turning his life around.

Schuster, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud and is scheduled to surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Oct. 20.

City hits back on judge’s halt of pied-à-terre tax rollout

A state court judge has issued a temporary restraining order halting New York City’s pied-à-terre tax rollout, requiring the city to take down a list of 900,000 potentially taxable properties from the Department of Finance website.

The legal action, brought by former Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro on behalf of three homeowners, challenges the city’s implementation process and argues that it failed to follow statutory requirements for identifying taxable homes.

The city must also pause tax collection efforts and enforcement of appeal deadlines until a hearing scheduled for August 31.