A Hamptons-based property investor accused by a slew of local families of faking home sales from is now facing an investigation.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James is investigating Michael O’Sullivan and his company, Hampton Dream Properties, for alleged deed and mortgage fraud, Newsday reported. At least 10 families — majority of whom are Latino — have sued O’Sullivan over the past decade, alleging he defrauded them by selling homes that were in foreclosure while misrepresenting the properties’ legal status.
In the Springs section of East Hampton, a pair of families say they purchased homes believing they would own them outright after making down payments and mortgage payments to Hampton Dream Properties.
Juan Amon paid $800,000 in 2020 for a Victorian-style home with an in-ground pool, making a $300,000 down payment and more than $70,000 in mortgage payments to O’Sullivan’s company. Amon invested an additional $280,000 in renovations with help from friends and family.
O’Sullivan, however, had purchased Amon’s home in 2012 while it was in foreclosure — and failed to disclose that information, Amon claimed in his lawsuit. In 2022, U.S. Bank took ownership of the property through foreclosure and sold it at auction for $1.16 million to Mastic Development Properties I LLC, an entity the attorney general’s office says is controlled by O’Sullivan.
A stranger appeared at Amon’s door last summer, telling his 14-year-old son the family would have to leave. The AG’s investigation could help stall the eviction proceedings.
Another family, Mauricio Ocampo and Diana Ramirez, bought their Springs home from O’Sullivan for $250,000 in 2014 before investing nearly $1 million in renovations over the next decade. Despite making mortgage payments, The Bank of New York Mellon foreclosed on their property in 2016, sending documents disclosing the home was not in Ocampo or Ramirez’s name.
In 2022, Ocampo said O’Sullivan told him to sign the house over to Hampton Dream Properties to resolve the foreclosure. Court documents show O’Sullivan then filed a deed claiming Hampton Dream paid $750,000 for the home, though Ocampo says he received no money.
David Besso, an attorney for O’Sullivan, denied the fraud allegations, saying his client “absolutely has not committed fraud” and that the plaintiffs simply failed to finalize their purchases.
The attorney general’s office is invoking a 2023 anti-deed fraud law to argue for a pause in eviction proceedings while the investigation continues.— Holden Walter-Warner
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