CNBC’s ‘American Greed’ Focuses on Ex-Con Landlord Steve Croman
Steve Croman on Mott Street, Feb. 2017
Ex-con Steve Croman is now the subject of a television hit piece by CNBC as part of its American Greed series. The second half of the program is dedicated to the notorious landlord in a segment appropriately called “Lousy Landlord.”
You’ll recall that Croman completed his “white collar” sentence on June 1, having served eight months of his one-year jail sentence. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to three felonies related to tax- and mortgage-fraud, and spent that time in the Manhattan Detention Center Complex (instead of maximum-security Rikers Island as per the initial judgement). Fresh out of prison, he reportedly still faces separate “contempt of court” charges filed by tenants at 141 Ridge Street.
As part of the settlement, tenants who lived, or currently live, in one of the buildings owned by the Croman (aka 9300 Realty) can grab a chunk of the $8 million in settlement money. Another requirement dictates that over 100 of his residential properties to be run by an independent management entity for five years, plus an additional seven years of independent monitorship to oversee compliance with the terms of the consent decree, and provide regular reporting to the Attorney General.
“This man served less time in jail for defrauding the banks of $45 million than a man for stealing a tie from Macy’s,” Stop Croman Coalition co-founder Cynthia Chaffee said in an email.
American Greed airs tonight on CNBC at 7:30pm.
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