"James McManus says his childhood friend, John Lettera, financially crippled him after he took loans out from Lettera's asset management company, Fairbridge Asset Management LLC, to develop his properties on McGraw Avenue in The Bronx and New Milford, Connecticut. McManus alleges Lettera deceived and coerced him into a series of fraudulent loan transactions between 2021 and 2025, extracting millions of dollars in payments McManus thought he was putting toward his loans and mortgages on the properties."
"At one point, [McManus] made a payment of a million dollars for one thing, then they said it was for another thing, then they said it was for a third thing, Laufer said. It's a shell game. It's structuring a default, it's predatory, it's racketeering. It's insane what occurred here."
"As a result, McManus said, he defaulted on his loans and mortgages, pushing him into foreclosure proceedings where Lettera would eventually take ownership of the buildings."
James McManus filed a federal racketeering lawsuit against his childhood friend John Lettera, claiming Lettera used his company Fairbridge Asset Management LLC to perpetrate a yearslong fraud scheme. McManus alleges he took loans from Lettera's company to develop properties in the Bronx and Connecticut, but Lettera deceived him about payment purposes and pocketed funds intended for mortgages and loans. The scheme allegedly caused McManus to default on his obligations, leading to foreclosure proceedings where Lettera gained ownership of the properties. McManus's attorney describes the conduct as predatory, involving confusing payment instructions and deliberate structuring of defaults. The lawsuit seeks approximately $50 million in damages for direct payments, emotional distress, and property losses.
Read at www.amny.com
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