New York, NY – March 14, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of RICKEY SMITH, 42, for stealing more than $250,000 from the low-income Housing Development Fund Corporation (“HDFC”) cooperative, where he was previously employed as the Property Manager. The defendant is charged in the New York State Supreme Court with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and three counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.[1]
“The residents of this single housing cooperative in Central Harlem have suffered greatly over the past year,” said District Attorney Vance. “After their former board president was convicted in an unrelated criminal matter, they discovered that their former property manager had fleeced them as well. According to the charges, not only did the defendant abuse the trust placed in him by draining the HDFC of significant funds, he did so for personal gain to buy items like a luxury car. Such self-serving abuse of HDFC funds can place tenants’ financial security, and that of their families, at risk.”
HDFCs are formerly city-owned buildings that have been converted into economically self-sufficient low-income cooperatives under the supervision of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
According to documents filed in court, in 2004, SMITH, through his company Alexa Property Management, LLC, was hired as the Property Manager of the 101-09 West 115th Street HDFC. The defendant’s responsibilities included managing the building’s day-to-day finances and distributing annual financial statements to the shareholders of the HDFC.
According to the charges, between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2010, the defendant stole more than $250,000 by making unauthorized wire transfers from HDFC bank accounts to his personal bank accounts, and using an HDFC debit card to make unauthorized purchases, such as appliances for his personal residence, as well as for building expenses that surpassed his authorized compensation. SMITH is also charged with using checks from the HDFC’s bank accounts to purchase a 2004 S500 Mercedes-Benz for approximately $44,500 for his personal use without the HDFC’s knowledge, permission, or authority. In order to conceal his theft, the defending is charged with distributing falsified financial statements to the shareholders under the misrepresentation they were created by an independent accountant.
In March 2012, a new Board of Directors was elected at the HDFC after a Phencyclidine (“PCP”) drug ring operating out of East Harlem was dismantled following the indictments of 35 members of the operation, including Doris Smith, former President of the Board of the HDFC and SMITH’s mother. On August 29, 2012, Doris Smith pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree and Conspiracy in the Second Degree in New York State Supreme Court. She was sentenced to five years in state prison on October 15, 2012. A month later, Bernard Moultrie was sentenced to 35 years in state prison for his role as a kingpin of that same drug trafficking organization, and for the murder of a competing drug trafficker. To date, 35 defendants in that PCP case have pleaded guilty, and have been or are expected to be sentenced to a range of up to 35 years in prison, depending on their role in the operation.
The newly elected Board of Directors discovered that the HDFC’s bank accounts were severely depleted compared to the representations made by RICKEY SMITH on the annual financial statements that he distributed from 2005 to 2010. After reviewing their bank accounts and financial statements, the new Board of Directors contacted the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The charges against RICKEY SMITH are otherwise unrelated to the narcotics charges mentioned above.
Assistant District Attorney Vimi Bhatia is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy, Principal Deputy Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau; Assistant District Attorney Polly Greenberg, Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau; and Executive Assistant District Attorney David Szuchman, Chief of the Investigation Division. Investigator Greg Dunlavey, Investigative Analyst Kyle Rodrigues, and Financial Investigator Wei Man Tang assisted in the investigation.
District Attorney Vance thanked the Union County Prosecutor’s Office for its assistance in this investigation.
Defendant Information:
RICKEY SMITH, D.O.B. 8/18/70
Hillside, NJ
Charges:
Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 1 count
Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, 3 counts
[1]The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
