Three women are accused of taking almost $900,000 in bribes, which they spent on fur coats, designer handbags and property in Florida, to help people snatch affordable New York apartments from thousands of families waiting on a list.
Anna Treybich, 71, Irina Zeltser, 66, and Karina Andriyan, 38, were charged on Tuesday for allegedly carrying out the housing bribery scheme in Brooklyn over the past six years while they ran a housing corporation board.
The three women were in charge of the process for which prospective buyers applied for high-demand cooperative apartments at the Luna Park Housing Corporation in Coney Island.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office said the women accepted a total of $874,000 in bribes – ranging from $10,000 to $120,000 from ineligible applicants.
Anna Treybich, 71, is seen outside court in handcuffs in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday
Karina Andriyan, 38, is seen outside court on Tuesday. She was arraigned on corruption and bribery charges
Irina Zeltser, 66, center in black is lead into court ahead of Karina Andriyan, 38 ( wearing pink) on Tuesday
The three women were in charge of the process for which prospective buyers applied for high-demand cooperative apartments (above) at the Luna Park Housing Corporation at Coney Island in Brooklyn
The scheme involved 18 apartments and the market value of those properties is estimated to be about $5 million in total. The apartments were sold at prices significantly lower than market value and were in high demand.
The scheme allowed the ineligible applicants to jump ahead of the thousands of people waiting patiently for an affordable apartment, prosecutors said.
Some of the eligible applicants on the list had been waiting decades for an apartment in the five-building complex made up of studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments.
Treybich and Zeltser served on the Board of Directors of Luna Park as the president and treasurer.
Andriyan was the office manager and her job was to process the applications and maintain the waiting lists approved by the New York City Housing Preservation and Development Corporation.
Applicants for the apartment complex fell into three categories: Internal applicants wanting to move from one apartment to another; external applicants who had no prior ownership; and applicants who lived with owners and were seeking successor ownership rights.
The three women are accused of accepting a total of $874,000 in bribes, which they then spent on dozens of fur coats and designer handbags
The designer bags, shoes, jewelry and clothing were seized by authorities when they executed search warrants on their homes
Cartier rings and Chanel necklaces were among the items the women allegedly bought with the bribes they received from the housing scheme
The applications were supposed to be maintained in the order they were received.
In exchange for the bribes, prosecutors say the women prepared and submitted forged and fake documents to the housing department.
Prosecutors say the housing department routinely approved all applications submitted by the Luna Park management office because they relied on their screening and application review.
Some of those forged or fake documents included income verification and birth certificates to prove family relationships for those applying for successor ownership rights.
Andriyan, 38, is seen speaking outside the court on Tuesday. The three women also allegedly purchased apartments in Florida with the bribes
In one instance, Zeltser allegedly received a cash bribe of $93,000 to help an applicant buy a three-bedroom apartment in January 2013.
Zeltser allegedly told the applicant she would need to apply as a successor tenant and claim the woman on record as the tenant was her sister. Prosecutors said the housing department approved the application after a fake birth certificate was handed over indicating the applicant and current owner were siblings.
Treybich also allegedly solicited a $26,000 cash payment from an applicant in March 2015 to purchase a three-bedroom apartment. The applicant gave Treybich a birth certificate, a marriage certificate and a passport. Treybich is accused of altering those documents to falsely claim the buyer and tenant were brother and sister.
In exchange for the bribes, prosecutors say the women prepared and submitted forged and fake documents to the housing department, including marriage and birth certificates
They allegedly forged the documents so ineligible applicants could apply for successor ownership rights by claiming they were a relative
When authorities raided the homes of each of the women, they allegedly found dozens of fur coats, designer handbags and jewelry they had purchased with the bribes.
The three women also allegedly purchased apartments in Florida with the bribes.
Authorities started investigating in 2017 after receiving a tip from a member of the public.
‘These defendants allegedly conspired to corrupt the process by which eligible prospective tenants could have access to affordable housing in Brooklyn, and then used their illegal proceeds to fund lavish lifestyles,’ District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
‘Their alleged greed cheated people who were entitled to apartments that instead went to those willing to pay bribes.’
Treybich, Zeltser and Andriyan are charged with fourth and fifth degree conspiracy, second degree grand larceny, second degree forgery, first degree falsifying business records, first degree offering a false instrument for filing and first degree commercial bribe receiving.
They will be arraigned in Brooklyn District Court on Tuesday.
Zelsterand Treybich bought apartments in Hollywood Beach, Florida (above) with the proceeds of the alleged bribes
The balcony of Treybich’s condo in Florida is pictured above. Prosecutors say she used money from the bribes to purchase the condo