STATE SENATOR GUSTAVO RIVERA HOSTS HIS ANNUAL BACK TO SCHOOL CELEBRATION!

 

State Senator Gustavo Rivera will host his annual Back to School Celebration with a Backpack Giveaway and Resource Fair on Thursday, August 13 at St. James Park.

Thanks to the contributions of many community partners, families in Senator Rivera's district will have access to:

•    Free backpacks, and
  
•    A variety of health screenings, resources and services from local providers
  
•    Fun activities for children
  

Backpacks are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

This event is free and open to the public.

Who: State Senator Gustavo Rivera

When: Thursday, August 13, 2026, 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Where: 2550 Jerome Avenue Bronx, NY 10468

Rain Date: Friday, August 14, same time and location.

Governor Hochul Announces Construction is Underway on 229-Unit Affordable Housing Development in Westchester

$160 Million Investment for QWest Towers Will Help Create New, Transit-Oriented, Affordable Homes in Mount Vernon

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that construction is underway on QWest Towers, a $160 million affordable housing development that will create 229 homes across two newly constructed residential buildings in the city of Mount Vernon, Westchester County. Located adjacent to the Mount Vernon West Metro-North station, the transit-oriented development replaces vacant, dilapidated buildings with high-quality, energy-efficient affordable homes while supporting the continued revitalization of downtown Mount Vernon. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, HCR has created or preserved more than 4,500 homes in Westchester County. QWest Towers builds on this progress and is part of Governor Hochul's $25 billion five-year Housing Plan, which is on track to create or preserve 100,000 affordable homes statewide.

“To combat the housing shortage impacting all New Yorkers, we need to build more housing — full stop,” Governor Hochul said. “We continue to work closely with developers and municipalities to identify opportunities to bring modern, affordable homes to places like Mount Vernon. Our investment in QWest Towers will offer the development’s residents the benefit of modern apartments in a transit-oriented neighborhood while also supporting the ongoing revitalization of the city.”

QWest Towers consists of two mixed-use buildings that will include a combined 229 apartments affordable to households earning up to 80 percent of the Area Median Income. The two buildings will include a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments designed to serve households of varying sizes. The development will include 12 units to accommodate residents with mobility disabilities and seven units to accommodate residents with sensory disabilities. The development will also include approximately 3,300 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

Located within the Mount Vernon West Transit-Oriented Development Zone, QWest Towers will provide its residents with direct access to Metro-North rail service, connecting them to employment opportunities throughout Westchester County, New York City, and the Hudson Valley. The project replaces several vacant and dilapidated buildings advancing the city's long-term vision for higher-density mixed-use development surrounding the transit hub.

QWest Towers’ residents will have access to a wide range of amenities, including rooftop recreation areas and community rooms. The development will also include two structured parking garages providing a combined 170 parking spaces for residents and commercial tenants.

QWest Towers is designed as an all-electric development and will meet Energy Star Multifamily New Construction and Enterprise Green Communities standards. Sustainability features include landscaped roofs, electric vehicle charging, Energy Star appliances, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and low-emitting construction materials that improve indoor air quality while reducing energy consumption.

QWest Towers is being developed in partnership between Stagg Group, Simone Development Companies and Rev. Dr. L'Judie Matt-Simmons.

Financing for QWest Towers includes a mix of public and private sources, including Federal and State Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) that are expected to generate more than $69 million in equity, $32.5 million in HCR subsidy loans and $5 million through Empire State Development's (ESD) Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund. Additional public funding includes more than $19 million from Westchester County through its Housing Flex Fund and New Homes Land Acquisition Program. 

ICE Arrests Cuban Illegal Alien in Florida with Expired Commercial Driver’s License

 

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested a Cuban illegal alien in Florida who had an expired Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).

On August 6, HSI Jacksonville arrested Jose Carlos Valdivia-Vera, an illegal alien from Cuba, who had been issued a final order of removal by a Department of Justice (DOJ) Immigration Judge. Valdivia-Vera had a temporary 1-year Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) that had expired on June 6.

Jose Carlos Valdivia-Vera, after his arrest by HSI Jacksonville

“Every time an illegal alien is behind the wheel of a semi-truck, they are putting countless American lives in danger,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE law enforcement, this criminal illegal alien from Cuba who had a commercial driver’s license is off our roadways. He will be removed from our country and will not be able to endanger innocent lives on our streets. We will relentlessly pursue any and all illegal alien truck drivers and the companies that employ them.”

Valdivia-Vera illegally entered the United States at an unknown date and location.

This arrest is part of DHS’ broader efforts to crack down on fraudulent CDL practices that put American lives in danger. Recent examples include:

• Earlier this month, DHS announced the results of the second wave of Operation Highway Shield, a joint mission in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), targeting unqualified foreign truck drivers across the country. In just a three-day period, the operation removed more than 800 dangerous truckers from America’s roads, including 51 illegal aliens.
• In July, DHS and DOT announced a partnership to crack down on fraudulent and illegal practices in CDL schools across the country.
• In October 2025, ICE and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol conducted a three-day operation that arrested 120 illegal aliens on Oklahoma’s roads, including 91 who were operating commercial motor vehicles with CDLs.

Some examples of illegal aliens who had been granted CDLs, with devastating impacts for American citizens, include:

Michael Bon, an illegal alien from Haiti, who caused a semi-truck crash that killed a Pennsylvania State Trooper in July 2026. He had been granted a CDL by Massachusetts.

Sukhdev Singh, an illegal alien from India, who caused a crash that left a U.S. citizen hospitalized in Indiana in March 2026. He had been granted a CDL by New York.

Bekzhan Beishekeev, an illegal alien from Kyrgyzstan, who swerved into oncoming traffic and caused a head-on collision that killed four people in Indiana in February 2026. He had been granted a CDL by Pennsylvania.

Gurpreet Singh (left) and Jasveer Singh (right), two illegal aliens from India, arrested in Indiana for smuggling more than 300 pounds of cocaine inside a semi-truck in January 2026. They had both been granted CDLs by California.

Rajinder Kumar, an illegal alien from India, who jackknifed his trailer and caused a crash that killed a newlywed couple in Oregon in November 2025. He had been granted a CDL by California.

Akhror Bozorov, an illegal alien from Uzbekistan, was granted a CDL by Pennsylvania despite being wanted in his country of origin for belonging to a terrorist organization. He was arrested by ICE in November 2025.

Anmol Anmol, an illegal alien from India, had been granted a CDL by New York with the name “No Name Given Anmol.” ICE arrested him in October 2025.

Harjinder Singh, an illegal alien from India, made an illegal U-turn on a Florida highway in his tractor-trailer, causing a brutal wreck that killed three people in August 2025. He had been granted a CDL by California.

Partap Singh, an illegal alien from India, drove at an unsafe speed and failed to stop for traffic and a construction zone, causing a crash that seriously injured 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman in California in June 2024. He had been granted a CDL by California.

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Drug Trafficker Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for Brokering Shipments of Fentanyl and Meth from Mexico to Western Washington

 

A 42-year-old Phoenix man with prior convictions for drug trafficking was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 150 months (12.5 years) in prison for acting as a broker for huge amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl headed to western Washington. Ryan Matthew Gennette was a long-time resident of Auburn, Washington, before relocating to Phoenix. Gennette was tied to large shipments of methamphetamine and fentanyl tainted M30 pills. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said that Genette was “willing to engage in the large-scale distribution of dangerous substances for money.”  

“Not only did Mr. Gennette traffic huge amounts of dangerous drugs by mail and by courier, he was also involved in sending firearms to cartel connected drug sources in Mexico,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “This sentence takes a repeat offender out of the drug business for a significant period.” 

This Homeland Security Task Force investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

“Mr. Gennette chose to profit from trafficking massive quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl, putting countless lives at risk in the Pacific Northwest,” said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “This sentence demonstrates that DEA and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those who fuel the deadly fentanyl crisis. Through Fentanyl Free America, we are disrupting the fentanyl supply chain, reducing its availability, and holding those who traffic these deadly drugs accountable.”

According to records filed in the case, Gennette was already on law enforcement radar in June 2024 when he shipped two large boxes containing seven kilograms of fentanyl pills, almost two kilograms of fentanyl powder, and over ten kilograms of actual methamphetamine to an address on Whidbey Island. Law enforcement seized and replaced the drugs with sham materials so that they could gather information on Gennette’s drug network.

Next Gennette sent nine kilograms of methamphetamine via courier – it too was seized by law enforcement.

Over time, law enforcement worked with confidential informants to place orders for large amounts of drugs from Gennette. This led to Gennette reaching out to an alleged contact in Mexico, Donald Budge. Budge is also charged in this case and is detained pending trial scheduled for December 15, 2026. Budge is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Gennette sent shipments of highly pure methamphetamine on two occasions in October 2024 – those shipments came into law enforcement custody. A shipment of 13 kilos of methamphetamine was tested as being 100 percent pure. A final shipment of over 64 kilograms of 

 

actual methamphetamine, plus 6.5 kilograms of counterfeit “M30” pills manufactured to look like prescription oxycodone, was seized from a courier in a traffic stop. 

Both men were arrested in November 2024 – Gennette in Phoenix and Budge in Tijuana, Mexico.

Gennette pleaded guilty in May 2026.

This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Seattle comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), The United States Marshals Service (USMS), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. 

This investigation was led by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). There is significant assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS),  the Tahoma Narcotics Enforcement Team (Auburn Police Department, Bonney Lake Police Department, Lakewood Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Puyallup Police Department, Tacoma Police Department, Washington State Department of Corrections) the Skagit County Interlocal Drug Enforcement Unit (which includes the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, Mt. Vernon Police Department, Burlington Police Department, Anacortes Police Department and the Oak Harbor Police Department) as well as the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

NYPD COMMISSIONER TISCH ANNOUNCES REMOVAL OF OVER 3,000 GUNS FROM NEW YORK CITY STREETS IN 2026

 

Builds on NYPD’s Work to Reduce Gun Violence and Deliver Record-Low Murders, Shooting Incidents, and Shooting Victims in the First Seven Months of the Year

Announcement Comes on the Fifth Anniversary of the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, a Multi-Agency Gun Violence Task Force Hosted by the NYPD to Keep the Most Violent Gun Offenders off City Streets

Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch today announced that the NYPD has removed more than 3,000 guns off New York City streets since January. In total, the NYPD has seized 3,259 guns so far this year, with 915 seized in Brooklyn, 782 seized in the Bronx, 764 seized in Manhattan, 605 seized in Queens, and 193 seized on Staten Island. A total of 199 of these guns were ghost guns – unserialized and untraceable firearms that only exist to evade law enforcement and gun laws, often ending up in the hands of criminals. The NYPD’s work to remove guns off city streets and dismantle the most dangerous gangs has contributed to historic lows in shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders in New York City for the first seven months of the year and in July.

Today’s announcement comes on the fifth anniversary of the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership (GVSP), a collaborative, multi-agency operation that brings together more than 30 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to combat gun violence. The partnership is yet another tool used by the NYPD and its partners to keep guns off city streets by collaborating to hold the perpetrators of gun violence accountable.

“The NYPD has taken more than 3,000 guns off New York City streets so far this year, contributing to the fewest murders, shooting incidents, and shooting victims in recorded history,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “This milestone is a direct result of our precision-policing strategy: putting officers where and when they are needed most, identifying the drivers of violence, and taking guns off our streets. I thank the brave NYPD officers who execute this work and our law enforcement partners, including the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, who help us build strong cases, hold criminals accountable, and keep our city safe.”

“The Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, led by the NYPD, together with every federal, state and local enforcement agency in New York City and beyond, is a national model partnership; a truly unprecedented ‘team of teams' that helped take more than 3,000 guns off the streets so far this year,” said New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Executive Director Chauncey Parker. “The GVSP team demonstrates every day what is possible when we work together — side-by-side — to achieve a common North Star and work together to keep the perpetrators of gun violence off our streets. This collaboration is strong and continues to get stronger. The GVSP serves as a promising model for new partnerships in government beyond public safety.”

"The violence in this city that endangers the lives of law-abiding men and women and their families is overwhelmingly gun violence,” said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is committed to removing illegal guns off our streets to root out this violence, and we commend the NYPD on retrieving over 3,000 guns so far this year. And so, we are proud to belong to the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership and its commitment to ridding this city of all these illegal guns and the violence they are used to committing here. I congratulate all the stakeholders in GVSP on five years of work and look forward to many more years to come.”

“The partnership of federal agents and NYPD detectives sharing real-time information in conjunction with local and federal prosecutors, has been fine-tuned to identify the violent re-offenders and drivers of gun-related crime and hold them accountable for their depraved actions," said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella, Jr. "Together with the Gun Violence Strategies Partnership, my office and our federal, state, and local partners have used that information to direct resources where they can have the greatest impact and the best chance of preventing further violence.  As a result, the NYPD has taken over 3,000 guns off city streets, and, beyond any doubt, our communities have become much safer."

Driving Down Gun Violence

These focused efforts on identifying and stopping the drivers of gun crimes have contributed to historic lows in gun violence. Last week, the NYPD announced that the department delivered the fewest shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders in recorded history for the first seven months of the year and in July. Year to date, there were 381 shooting incidents, beating the previous record of 412 set in 2025. There were 462 shooting victims, beating the previous record of 489 shooting victims set in 2025, and there were 149 murders, beating the previous record of 174 murders set in 2017. For the first seven months of the year, shooting incidents dropped 7.5% (381 vs. 412), shooting victims dropped 5.5% (462 vs. 489), and murders dropped 22.8% (149 vs. 193).

For the month of July, shooting incidents decreased 21.3% (59 vs. 75) and were down in every borough. This is a 75% drop compared to just six years ago — in July 2020 there were 243 shooting incidents in that month alone. The NYPD also delivered the fewest shooting incidents ever recorded for any Fourth of July holiday with nine shooting incidents between July 3 and July 5, surpassing the previous low of 10 incidents set in 2025.

In New York City’s public housing developments, the NYPD continues to deliver historic crime reductions, breaking the record for the fewest murders, shooting incidents, shooting victims, and robberies for the first seven months of the year. Murders were down 45% (11 vs. 20), shooting incidents were down 33.3% (54 vs. 81), and shooting victims were down 35.2% (59 vs. 91) year to date.

In addition, the NYPD’s laser focus on identifying, stopping, and holding accountable the perpetrators of gun violence has resulted in 25 gang-related takedowns in 2026.

Violence Reduction Zones

The NYPD utilizes data-driven strategies to drive down violent crime and shootings across the city and based on observed trends. The department launched its Summer Violence Reduction Plan on May 4, and as of August 10, major crime was down 24.8% (1,335 vs. 1,776), shooting incidents were down 39.3% (37 vs. 61), and shooting victims were down 32.1% (53 vs. 78) in the zones during deployment hours. The zones deploy up to 3,800 officers on nightly foot posts across 72 zones in 40 precincts, public housing, and the subway system.

New York Woman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Illegal Aliens from Canada

A New York woman pleaded guilty today for her role in an international alien smuggling conspiracy that brought aliens primarily from India into the United States across the northern border. 

According to court documents, Stacey Taylor, 43, of Plattsburgh, New York, was involved in a failed human smuggling event in January 2025 involving aliens from India brought illegally into the United States. U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the defendant’s vehicle near Churubusco, New York, in the early morning hours of Jan. 20, 2025, and discovered four men inside her vehicle. Agents then determined the four men, three from Indian and one from Canada, were illegal aliens and had just crossed the U.S.-Canadian border illegally, without inspection, in the freezing cold. When law enforcement later examined the defendant’s cellphone, they learned that Taylor had received coordinates for the aliens’ location and instructions for picking them up. The four aliens illegally entered the United States by foot through a wooded area and got into Taylor’s waiting vehicle, and she then drove them away from the border and further into the interior United States. After law enforcement stopped her vehicle, Taylor admitted that she picked up the four aliens and expected to receive payment for doing so. Additional review of Taylor’s phone revealed text messages that indicated that she had been involved in multiple other human smuggling events in the days prior. Following her January 2025 arrest, she was subsequently stopped in a suspected alien smuggling venture in August 2025 and was again implicated in alien smuggling in September 2025.

Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in alien smuggling and four counts of alien smuggling for profit. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 3 and faces a statutory minimum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo made the announcement. 

HSI Rouses Point, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Border Patrol Champlain Station are investigating the case. HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington D.C. and CBP’s International Interdiction Task Force provided significant assistance.

The investigation and indictment were supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including HSI and CBP, Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 477 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 431 U.S. convictions; and more than 370 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.  

Former CFO Charged And Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Hedge Fund Of More Than $3 Million

 

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, and Inspector in Charge of the New York Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), Ketty Larco-Ward, announced today the filing of an Information charging THEODORE WOO, the former CFO of a hedge fund, with securities fraud. The charge results from WOO’s yearslong scheme to steal from the fund by submitting and approving falsified invoices, causing the fund to transfer money directly into accounts controlled by WOO, and incurring unauthorized personal expenses on credit cards paid by the fund. WOO pled guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo and is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on November 18, 2026. 

“For years, Theodore Woo flagrantly abused his position of trust and brazenly stole from his employer to line his own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald.  “To do so, Woo took advantage of his position as CFO, misled his employer, and falsified documents. Lies and deception are not worth the risk of criminal prosecution.  Today’s charge and plea are indicative of this Office’s commitment to holding C-suite executives accountable when they engage in fraud.” 

“Woo’s arrest shows that greed and deceptive tactics do not pay,” said USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward.  “For years Woo allegedly cheated this company out of millions and used this money as his own personal piggy bank.  The United States Postal Service will continue to investigate and prosecute this type of illegal activity, as we seek to protect the public from financial fraudsters.”

According to the Information: 

Beginning shortly after he began working for the fund and continuing until his termination in March 2026, WOO embezzled millions of dollars from the fund through a series of fraudulent transactions, including making millions of dollars in fraudulent payments to entities controlled by WOO and spending thousands of dollars on unauthorized personal expenses using credit cards paid by the fund. 

As the CFO, WOO handled back-office tasks for the fund and had the authority to authorize the fund’s administrator to process reimbursement requests.  In that capacity, WOO instructed the fund administrator to make millions of dollars in payments to two entities, TWDRR LLC and MGTW LLC, for claimed “Research Consulting Services.”  WOO also sent invoices from those two entities that falsely represented that they had rendered services for the fund.  In actuality, WOO controlled both entities, and neither entity had performed any service for the fund.  To further conceal his theft, WOO falsely claimed to the fund’s external auditor that MGTW LLC was an independent research consulting firm engaged by the fund to develop short investment ideas on a project-by-project basis.

WOO also had the authority to effectuate transfers of cash from the fund to third parties, as the CFO.  Over the course of his employment with the fund, WOO caused over 100 fraudulent transfers from the fund to a corporate entity controlled by WOO and to bank accounts in WOO’s name.

Finally, while serving as CFO, WOO opened and controlled multiple credit cards in the name of the fund, and charged unauthorized personal expenses to those cards, including thousands of dollars in charges to adult entertainment establishments and international vacations.

WOO, 49, of Miami, Florida, pled guilty to one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. 

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. McDonald thanked the USPIS for its outstanding work.  Mr. McDonald also expressed appreciation for the assistance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.    

Attorney General James Secures More Than $700,000 from Private Equity Firm That Abandoned Hudson Yards Condo Building

 

SME Capital Ventures Must Fix Longstanding Building Violations and Turn Over Control of Condo Board to Homeowners 

New York Attorney General Letitia James today secured relief for homeowners at the 441 West 37th Street Condominium in Hudson Yards, Manhattan, after an Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigation found that a private equity firm failed to fulfill its legal responsibilities after taking control of the building’s condominium sponsor. SME Capital Ventures (SME Capital) took control of the company that developed the condominium in October 2023 after winning a foreclosure auction on a defaulted loan. However, OAG found that the firm later denied owning the company and refused to pay the building's bills, maintain required safety inspections, or turn over control of the building to homeowners, all while collecting rent on unsold units in the building. As a result of OAG’s investigation, SME Capital and its affiliates, 441 W 37 SME, LLC and West 37th ST, LLC, must pay more than $700,000 to cover the building's unpaid bills, safety violations, and penalties, and will surrender control of the building’s board of directors to the homeowners. 

"Private equity firms do not get to pick and choose which laws apply to them," said Attorney General James. "When this company took control of a Manhattan condo building, it took on real legal responsibilities to the homeowners who lived there. For two years, SME Capital dodged those duties while still collecting rent checks. My office will keep holding these firms accountable when they put profits over of New Yorkers' safety." 

The 441 West 37th Street Condominium is a nine-unit residential building in Hudson Yards. In 2020, shortly after units first went on sale, Levi Balkany, the building’s developer and initial condo sponsor, took out a $3 million loan from SME Capital, a New York City private investment firm that specializes in acquiring distressed real estate debt and equity. Mr. Balkany pledged his ownership stake in the building as collateral. When Mr. Balkany defaulted on the $3 million loan in 2023, SME Capital obtained the collateral at a foreclosure auction where it was the only bidder, making the private equity firm the full owner of Mr. Balkany’s sponsor company and putting it in charge of the building. 

The OAG launched an investigation in 2024 after building residents lodged complaints alleging sponsor mismanagement and repeated failures by the sponsor to pay amounts due to the condominium. The OAG found that despite winning the auction, SME Capital refused to acknowledge that it owned the sponsor company or accept the responsibilities that came with it. The private equity firm stopped paying the building's monthly fees, letting the unpaid balance grow to more than $523,000. It also let the building's occupancy permit lapse, failed to notify the state that it had taken over the sponsor company as required by law, and never handed control of the building's board over to the actual homeowners. 

As a result, the individual homeowners were forced to pay out of their own pockets twice to renew the building's temporary certificate of occupancy and keep it legally allowed to operate. The owners spent $15,824 to renew the permit, most recently in June 2025. In addition, the building was cited by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) for failing to file required paperwork on its fire safety systems, and by other city agencies for additional health and safety problems, totaling nearly $140,000 in unpaid fines. 

Homeowners were also shut out of decisions about their own building. Under the initial offering plan, the developer was supposed to hand control of the building's board over to the actual homeowners once enough units were sold, but that never happened, and the board never even held a required meeting. That left residents with no say over repairs or how the building was run. Meanwhile, the fire safety problems went unresolved, leaving residents to live with a serious safety risk while the fines kept adding up, and the building's lack of a permanent occupancy permit made it harder for owners to sell or refinance their homes. 

Despite neglecting its financial and operational responsibilities to the building — and explicitly misrepresenting to OAG and residents that it had no ownership stake in the building — SME Capital continued to reap the financial benefits of ownership. The firm actively retained multiple real estate brokers to try to sell the remaining condos. Ultimately, SME Capital elected to lease the unsold units, renting out the penthouse for $12,000 a month and another unit for $10,000 a month. It also retained a management company to collect rent and common charges from residents. 

The OAG investigation determined that SME Capital violated the Martin Act, the state law that regulates the sale of condominiums and requires sponsors to keep the public informed and follow through on their obligations to homeowners. The OAG also found the companies violated state laws prohibiting repeated illegal business conduct. 

Under the terms of the settlement, SME Capital must pay more than $523,000 in overdue building fees, reimburse homeowners for the costs they incurred renewing the building's temporary certificate of occupancy, and obtain a permanent certificate of occupancy. The firm must also repair and certify the building's fire suppression system and pay all outstanding municipal fines and taxes associated with the building, totaling at least $139,918. In addition, SME Capital must update the condominium's offering plan to reflect the change in ownership, formally turn over control of the condominium board to homeowners, and pay a $54,000 penalty.