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Real Estate Fraudster Caught in Rockland County Affordable Housing Scam
A property owner and manager will pay for their roles in a real estate scam in Rockland County, according to the New York State Attorney General.
Russell Mainardi, a property manager at 18-36 Columbus Avenue in Spring Valley, agreed to banishment from the real estate business in New York for milking an affordable co-op for personal benefit and putting it on the verge of foreclosure.
Attorney General Leticia James announced the agreement last week following a two-year investigation revealing an affordable housing cooperative development in Spring Valley was in danger of foreclosure due to illegal misuse of co-op funds by Mainardi and his girlfriend, who was acting as a property manager for the co-op.
According to the investigation, Mainardi in 2014 convinced the former board president to hire him to assist the Columbus Avenue co-op with its finances but charged inflated rates. Investigators say Mainardi lied about his experience and background, having never worked with a low-income co-op and hid a felony conviction for mortgage fraud and tax evasion. He then recruited his girlfriend into a position as a “no-show” property manager, double billing the co-op for the same management tasks allegedly performed by both of their entities. Mainardi also set up the board president so that he was paid a…
