Kushner Companies Has Been Subpoenaed as Part of a Probe Into False Housing Paperwork - TIME

Kushner Companies Has Been Subpoenaed as Part of a Probe Into False Housing Paperwork

Posted: 19 Apr 2018 08:56 PM PDT


(NEW YORK) — The Kushner Cos. confirmed Thursday it was subpoenaed by federal prosecutors for information related to an Associated Press report that the company filed dozens of false documents about its buildings in New York City.

The real estate company issued a statement saying it has “nothing to hide and is cooperating fully with all legitimate requests for information, including this subpoena.”

The statement said the federal subpoena came last month, just a day after the AP reported the Kushner Cos. routinely filed false paperwork with the city stating it had zero rent-regulated tenants in buildings across the city when, in fact, it had hundreds. The AP report covered a three-year period when the real estate company was run by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law who is now a senior adviser.
Tenant advocates say such false filings allow landlords to avoid heightened city oversight designed to keep lower-paying, rent-regulated tenants from being harassed during construction and pressured to leave, freeing up apartments for higher-paying residents.

Kushner Cos. told the AP at the time of its report that the company outsources preparation of construction permit applications and fixes any mistakes immediately. Records show the company did file some amended documents, often more than a year later.

The AP report, based on work by nonprofit watchdog Housing Rights Initiative, has sparked an inquiry by the New York state attorney general’s office and a city council investigation.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Thursday that the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn had subpoenaed housing paperwork from the company. The office declined to comment to the AP

The Brooklyn attorney’s office also has reportedly subpoenaed the Kushner Cos. over a visa-for-investment program to raise money from Chinese investors for its real estate projects.