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Last August, my editor was looking through Gothamist’s tips inbox when he spotted an old email from a reader about a “shady realtor in Queens,” and forwarded it to me.
Typically, as a day-of reporter, I turn stories around that same day — maybe a week if they call for it. That’s what I thought was going to happen with this one. But I fell down a rabbit hole when I started reporting — and the story and podcast episode we published this week is what I climbed out of it with.
The original tipster said his girlfriend, Clara Natkin, had lost thousands of dollars trying to secure an apartment through a man named David Michael in 2022. She was never able to recover the money — even after she obtained a judgment against Michael in small claims court.
I spoke to Natkin, who walked me through her encounter with Michael — how she viewed an apartment with him, signed a lease, and paid him $3,500 as a deposit and first month’s rent. All to never receive the keys, or get her money back, she said.
Natkin told me she later went online and found people complaining about Michael. I started digging too, searching his name and his company, The Pyramid Group, on Facebook, Reddit, and Yelp. I asked several public agencies if they had complaints about him.
I found what many would consider a renter’s worst nightmare: multiple claims that Michael had taken their deposits for apartments and refused to refund them when the deals fell through. The Department of State also told me his real estate license had been revoked more than a decade ago.
This was no day-of assignment.
I began reaching out to people who posted about him, and eventually went to the courthouse in Queens, where I learned that at least two dozen New Yorkers sued Michael for amounts ranging from a few hundred dollars to $5,750, dating back to 2012.
Michael told me he didn’t know about some of those lawsuits. He said any claims that he “stole” money from anyone “or otherwise engaged in criminal conduct” are false, and that his satisfied customers far outnumber those with complaints against him. After I contacted him, he said he was willing to resolve matters with those who claim he still owes them money.
But I eventually spoke with more than a dozen people who allege Michael took deposits from them for apartments they never moved into, and that getting their money back proved impossible.
One of the reasons I was able to stay with this story for so long — one that is outside my normal beat — is because of the way Gothamist is funded: by YOU. Your support provides us with the editorial independence to follow stories wherever they lead while also keeping us free from outside influence. If you find value in what we do here at Gothamist, please consider making a donation
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