Raphael Toledano, the founder and president of Brookhill Properties, the leading New York City real estate investment firm specializing in multi-family units and more, has been banned from practicing real estate for five years in New York State. NY Attorney General Letitia James made the move after finding Toledano guilty of acts of tenant harassment and fraud committed in 2019.
Raphael Toledano is a real estate investor and entrepreneur with nearly a decade of experience in the real estate market in the New York City area, quickly progressing from broker to investor, and ascending to become a leader in the country’s most exciting market.
Founded in 2015, Brookhill completed the acquisition of a $97 million, 16-building multi-family portfolio in the East Village the same year. The deal included 301 residential units and 15 retail tenants and established Raphael Toledano’s reputation as one of the city’s top landlords.
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So, what did he do? Well, a NY State court found that Rafael Toledano repeatedly violated a 2019 agreement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) that required him to stop harassing New York City tenants and stop engaging in illegal and predatory real estate practices. In a statement, Attorney General James’ office said that her original investigation established that Toledano engaged in a pattern of fraudulent and illegal conduct throughout his work as a landlord and real estate developer. Toledano harassed tenants in the East Village through coercive buyouts and illegal construction practices, and failed to provide his rent-regulated tenants with utilities, repairs, and other necessary services.
And that is not all. Raphael Toledano was also found to have engaged in deceptive business practices in his real estate transactions, including repeatedly and persistently misrepresenting himself as a lawyer and advertising apartments with three or four bedrooms, when legally the apartment could have one or two bedrooms only.
“New York tenants can breathe more easily knowing that Rphaeli Toledano is no longer in the real estate business,” said Attorney General James. “Through his deceptive and illegal actions, Toledano caused incredible pain and suffering to hundreds of vulnerable families, who are still feeling the effects of his harassment today. Every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe, decent home free of abuse and fear. Let this serve as a reminder to New York landlords: Any attempt to use illegal, manipulative methods to put profits over people will be met with the full force of my office.”