Toby Moskovits’ creditors are back.
The developer behind the Williamsburg Hotel battled lenders and investors for years in an attempt to hang on to her development firm Heritage Equity Group’s Brooklyn portfolio.
But after lying low the past two years, and mostly avoiding new lawsuits, some of Moskovits’ problems from the past are returning.
Investor Shaul Kopelowitz alleges in a new lawsuit that Moskovits illegally transferred the deed of her Flushing home to her son just a day after a judgment was issued in Kopelowitz’s favor.
Kopelowitz is now seeking to unwind the transfer so he can collect on the remainder of a $3 million loan he claims Moskovits owes him.
The saga goes back to 2018. Kopelowitz loaned $6 million to Moskovits and her business partner, Michael Lichtenstein. But Kopelowitz alleged Moskovits and Lichtenstein defaulted.
And on November 5, 2020, a judge issued an order in Kopelowitz’s favor, awarding him over $3 million, the amount unpaid.
Moskovits and Lichtenstein tried to get the judgment vacated. Moskovits alleged that the money came in as an investment, not a loan, according to court filings. But the judge did not buy Moskovits’ argument.
Kopelowitz claims he has still not collected the $3 million. And Kopelowitz has had a tough time getting up-to-date information from Moskovits about her assets.
Kopelowitz mentioned that in a 2024 deposition, Moskovits said her home was no longer in her name. But she refused to answer whose name the property was under, citing the Fifth Amendment, according to Kopelowitz.
A Brooklyn court ordered Moskovits to respond.
She revealed the ownership was transferred to her son, Dovid Moskovits, for no compensation, according to court filings. The property was transferred on November 6, 2020, a day after the judgment was issued in Kopelowitz’s favor.
Kopelowitz is seeking a judge’s order declaring the Moskovits property transfer was fraudulent and directing the removal of transfer from public record. Kopelowitz is also seeking to levy execution on the transferred real property.
Meanwhile, Moskovits has other problems. A judge last year ordered Moskovits and Lichtenstein liable for guarantees the partners provided on a $68 million loan for the Williamsburg Hotel. The lender, Benefit Street, alleged Moskovits and Lichtenstein violated their guarantees by putting the property into bankruptcy.
Moskovits and her attorney did not immediately return a request for comment. Kopelowitz’s attorney also did not return a request to comment.
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