"Xi Hui "Steven" Wu, the former owner of an apartment building at 345 Ovington Ave., illegally "sold" condominiums to at least 20 families, according to court documents and Attorney General Letitia James. Wu never legally created a condominium and did not have the legal right to sell the units, rendering each sale illegitimate even as families paid large sums for down payments, monthly mortgage payments and fake condo fees."
""Steven Wu preyed on hardworking immigrant families, abused their trust, and stole the savings they had set aside to build a stable future," James said in a statement. "These families believed they were buying homes, when in reality, they were being sold nothing but lies. This order returns money to the families Wu cheated and ensures he can never again exploit New Yorkers through fraudulent real estate schemes.""
Xi Hui "Steven" Wu sold nonexistent condominium units at 345 Ovington Ave. to at least 20 families who paid down payments, mortgage payments, and fake condo fees. Wu filed a plan in 2013 but never completed the legal process to create individual units, separate tax lots, or legal condo deeds. Wu collected roughly $5 million while failing to pay the building mortgage, resulting in a 2022 foreclosure auction. Many victims were immigrant tenants with limited English proficiency and faced eviction and large financial losses. A court ordered Wu to pay more than $4.2 million in restitution and barred him from selling securities.
Read at Brooklyn Paper
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