A Borough Park landlord is hauling a former tenant family into court, claiming they built a bogus paper trail to keep Section 8 rent checks coming for an apartment they no longer lived in. In a civil complaint, Eretz One Realty says the Spielman family used forged lease renewals with the New York City Housing Authority, then refused to give back Unit 202 when the owner moved to sell. The suit asks a judge to unwind the paperwork, order an accounting, and award damages.
What the court filing alleges
According to documents filed in Kings County Supreme Court, the Spielmans allegedly signed a sham lease renewal and sent fraudulent forms to the New York City Housing Authority so voucher payments would keep flowing, court exhibits show, via Trellis. The complaint asks the judge to declare the disputed documents null and void, correct NYCHA's records, and award damages to the owner.
Money trail and settlement talks
Eretz One claims NYCHA paid a total of $173,930 in rent for the unit, that the authority signed off on a rent hike to $3,400 a month in 2024, and that the family actually walked away from the apartment on March 31, 2026, according to the New York Post. The landlord says it offered the Spielmans $25,000 to surrender the apartment, but that the family turned it down and countered with a demand for $100,000.
Tenants push back
Mindje Spielman told the New York Post that "the allegations are false" and accused Eretz One of using the legal system to pressure her family. The same report notes the landlord's attorney claims the Spielmans moved to a different apartment yet still refused to turn over possession of Unit 202.
The building and the owner
Unit 202 sits in a condo building at 3715 15th Avenue in Borough Park. StreetEasy lists the property as a six-story, 36-unit building constructed in 2007. Public records name Eretz One Realty as the owner and list its office at 10 Powerhouse Road in Roslyn Heights, according to PropertyShark.
Oversight and context
The complaint also says NYCHA brushed off fraud alerts after Eretz One contacted the authority's general counsel in December 2024, an allegation laid out in the court filing. Federal overseers have already put NYCHA's fraud controls under the microscope. The HUD Office of Inspector General opened an audit of the authority's fraud-risk management in February 2024, warning that NYCHA programs are vulnerable to paperwork schemes and similar exploitation, according to HUD OIG.
What's next
The case remains active in Kings County Supreme Court, where Eretz One is asking a judge to void the allegedly fraudulent documents, fix NYCHA's records, and return Unit 202 to the owner. So far there has been no public ruling, and both sides appear to be gearing up for early court proceedings as the complaint moves through the docket.
