A Nussbaum Lowinger creditor goes after the dissolved agency’s lesser-known accomplice, Samuel Lowinger.
Lakewood-based Blueberry Funding has filed a lawsuit in Kings County looking for to carry Lowinger liable for $58.7 million in lacking escrow funds. The lawsuit places the deal with the opposite half of the now-defunct Nussbaum Lowinger, a Manhattan-based regulation agency on the heart of an escrow fraud scandal the place former shoppers allege they’re owed over $400 million.
To this point, a lot of the authorized ire has been directed at Mark Nussbaum, the better-known and majority accomplice on the agency. However Blueberry is putting blame on Lowinger, alleging he breached his fiduciary obligation to make sure the funds had been held within the designated escrow account. Blueberry additional alleges Lowinger knew or ought to have recognized that distributions had been being constituted of the escrow account and the fund was being depleted. Previous to Blueberry’s lawsuit, Lowinger had solely been named as a defendant in a single different lawsuit. (The claims towards Lowinger in that go well with had been discontinued.)
The thriller of Sam Lowinger
Nussbaum was often known as the high-rolling level individual for the agency’s escrow enterprise. His private belongings included $2 million in crypto and $91,000 in wine and alcohol, in accordance with latest court docket filings. He had bought over $200,000 in watches and jewellery.
Lowinger seems to maintain a decrease profile. His Instagram account is crammed with the 30-something-year-old lawyer taking part in saxophone solos. A couple of month after Nussbaum Lowinger’s closure, Lowinger landed a brand new job as an affiliate basic counsel at a household workplace, in accordance with his LinkedIn, The Promote reported.
He has largely remained quiet because the agency’s collapse, claiming that Nussbaum left him at nighttime concerning the agency’s escrow enterprise and was the one one with viewing entry, in accordance with court docket filings.
Lowinger’s lawyer, Rick Supple, stated his shopper had nothing to do with the escrow settlement that Blueberry allegedly made with Nussbaum.
“In truth, as plaintiff additionally is aware of, as soon as it grew to become recognized to Mr. Lowinger that the agency’s escrow account might have been contaminated by improper conduct, he took instant motion to guard all stakeholders,” stated Supple. “Mr. Lowinger appears ahead to addressing and placing to relaxation Blueberry’s false claims.”
Whereas Lowinger has tried to distance himself from the agency’s collapse and its escrow enterprise, he was intently concerned with the transaction aspect of the enterprise, in accordance with sources and paperwork reviewed by TRD. These new particulars make clear Lowinger’s position within the embattled agency, which has till now been opaque.
Nussbaum Lowinger’s actual property shoppers had courted controversy, a few of whom have been targets of the Division of Justice’s mortgage fraud probe. Notably, Nussbaum Lowinger was listed because the counsel to Moshe Silber’s Rhodium Capital. (Silber pleaded responsible final yr to his position in a mortgage fraud scheme.)
A voice memo and an e mail reviewed by TRD between 2022 and 2023 present that Lowinger had intensive dealings with the title insurer Riverside Summary, which is at the moment blacklisted by Fannie Mae for performing because the title insurer on a fraudulent transaction in Troy, Michigan. One communication reveals Lowinger voicing frustration with Riverside Summary’s CEO Shaul Greenwald over undisclosed charges that appeared to carry up the closing of a take care of Shaya Prager.
(Riverside Summary has not been accused of any wrongdoing. There isn’t any indication Lowinger’s communications contain the Troy deal.)
In a March 2022 e mail, Lowinger wrote to Greenwald expressing his frustration with the title insurer for allegedly imposing last-minute charges on shoppers on time-of-the-essence offers.
“This will’t proceed. In case you worth our relationship and staff method (and also you indicated as a lot while you got here right down to our workplace), then there must be extra transparency. This constantly will get in the way in which of TOE closings. In time of want, I really feel your workers spending extra time on settling your accounts slightly than doing the title work we’ve got entrusted them with.”
In a terse voice recording dated March 2023, Lowinger once more voices concern about not having visibility into Riverside’s charges.
“I can’t have it occur on each deal. I simply can’t,” he stated.
Greenwald didn’t return a request to remark.
Mark Nussbaum has been charged by the Manhattan District Lawyer’s Workplace with grand larceny over allegations he stole $15 million of escrow funds. Nussbaum has pleaded not responsible.
Blueberry, another lender, is likely one of the largest collectors of Nussbaum Lowinger. Nussbaum appointed a trustee to deal with the claims and take Nussbaum Lowinger via an alternative choice to chapter often known as an project for the good thing about collectors.
The trustee not too long ago alleged over $300 million of Nussbaum Lowinger’s shopper cash allegedly went to the late Mendel Steiner, a 33-year outdated Borough Park-based actual property investor, in accordance with a latest lawsuit. A lawsuit introduced by the trustee dealing with the liquidation alleges Steiner diverted that cash via phony escrow accounts. Blueberry alleges funds had been alleged to be held within the Nussbaum Lowinger escrow account. However the agency did not return the funds after Steiner died in January.
Learn extra
Creditors seek at least $400M from Mark Nussbaum’s former law firms
Mark Nussbaum names names in new filings
Ex-Nussbaum Lowinger partner details final days of dissolved law firm
