DA’s office: 3 women accused of helping people illegally buy affordable housing units

The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of three women accused of helping people illegally buy affordable housing units in Coney Island.

News 12 Staff

May 21, 2019, 11:59 PM

Updated 1,795 days ago

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The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of three women accused of helping people illegally buy affordable housing units in Coney Island.
The women are said to have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash bribes as part of the scheme.
The DA’s office says the three women bought Chanel, Cartier, Fendi and other luxury items with the bribe money.
Anna Treybich, 71, Irina Zeltser, 66, and Karina Andriyan, 38, were arrested. They were officials with the Luna Park Affordable Housing in Coney Island. 
Investigators say people paid them to get to the top of a wait list for a unit by paying bribes ranging from $10,000 to $120,000.
The women are said to have collected more than $870,000 in the scheme.

Officials say the real victims in the case are the thousands who are on the waiting list trying to get into one of the buildings at Luna Park – some of whom have been waiting since the early 1990s.
At least 18 units were sold – the apartments were valued at a total of $5 million.
The DOI says the Department of Housing Preservation and Development handles the applications for the apartments citywide, but the department has limited resources.
Officials are trying to determine if anything similar has happened at other affordable housing properties.
As for those who paid the bribes, HPD will see whether they are eligible to stay there or they may subject to eviction.
The three women were arraigned Tuesday on a 78-count indictment, including charges for conspiracy, grand larceny and forgery.


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