Real Estate Investor Pleads Guilty to $165M Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy

A New York man pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in an extensive multi-year conspiracy to fraudulently obtain over $165 million in loans and fraudulently acquire multifamily and commercial properties.

According to court documents, between 2018 and 2020, Boruch “Barry” Drillman, 36, of New York, conspired with at least four others to deceive lenders into issuing multifamily and commercial mortgage loans. Drillman and his co-conspirators provided the lenders with fictitious documents, including purchase and sale contracts with inflated purchase prices. Drillman managed BRC Williamsburg Holdings LLC, which purchased multifamily property Williamsburg of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Troy Technology Holdings LLC, which purchased commercial property Troy Technology Park in Troy, Michigan.

In March 2019, Williamsburg of Cincinnati was acquired for $70 million. However, Drillman and his co-conspirators from Rhodium Capital Advisors utilized a stolen identity to present a lender and Fannie Mae with a purchase and sale contract for $95.85 million and other fraudulent documents. On March 8, 2019, Madison Title Agency performed two closings, one for the true $70 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $95.85 million sales price presented to the lender.

In September 2020, Troy Technology Park was acquired for $42.7 million. However, Drillman and his co-conspirators presented the lender with a fraudulent purchase and sale contract for $70 million. Additionally, to support the inflated purchase price, Drillman and his co-conspirators submitted to the lender and appraiser a fraudulent letter of intent to purchase the property from another party for $68.8 million and other fraudulent documents. To conceal the fraudulent nature of the transaction, Drillman and his co-conspirators arranged for a short-term $30 million loan, which was used to make it appear that they had the funds needed to close on the loan. On Sept. 25, 2020, Riverside Abstract performed two closings, one for the true $42.7 million sales price and another for the fraudulent $70 million sales price presented to the lender.

Drillman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey, Inspector General Brian M. Tomney of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), and Postal Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.

The FHFA-OIG and USPIS are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Siji Moore of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Martha Nye for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.