Investigating Fraud and Racketeering Claims Against David DeRosa and IPA Asset Management LLC

 

I am litigating a civil RICO claim against David DeRosa, IPA Asset Management, LLC, and their affiliates, and would appreciate information from anyone who has been defrauded by them or is knowledgeable about their foreclosure rescue business.  

My client is a private lender that was foreclosing on a property but was caused to incur significant losses when, after we obtained a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, the borrower signed a deed transferring title of the property to a newly-formed LLC set up by DeRosa and his team.  At the time, the property was worth more than what was owed, but after extensive delay the borrower owed much more than the property was worth and we were awarded a judgment against them for over $1.6 million.   

Per the “Property Improvement and Sale Agreement” between the borrower and DeRosa's newly formed LLC, the borrowers were promised that they would “no longer be responsible for any costs” associated with the property, that DeRosa's team would fix and flip it, and that they would have a chance to share in the profits after it was repaired and sold.  Attorneys who regularly represent DeRosa and his entities – Christopher Thompson and Shannon McKinley – then substituted as counsel for the borrower in the foreclosure action and filed a series of unsuccessful applications to vacate the judgment of foreclosure while claiming that their client was taking steps to repair the property.  Another attorney affiliated with DeRosa, Matthew Tannenbaum, is identified on the deed to the new LLC as the person the document should be returned to after recording with the clerk.  

Despite significantly delaying the foreclosure, the building was not repaired, and after several years of delay it was ordered to be demolished as an unsafe structure.  One of DeRosa’s investors, Mangotree Real Estate Holdings, L.P., operated by Rakesh Bhargava of BW Asset Management, later filed suit claiming they had given DeRosa over $400,000 to repair the property but he misappropriated or diverted the funds.   We were awarded a judgment against the borrower of over $1.6 million, and believe what happened in this case was part of a broader pattern of frauds against distressed property owners, lenders, and investors, as more fully explained in our brief to the Appellate Division in opposition to DeRosa's appeal arguing that the suit to hold him and his affiliates responsible for the loss should be thrown out, which can be read here: Respondent’s Brief in Fraud and Civil RICO Lawsuit against David DeRosa and IPA Asset Management LLC

DeRosa has put IPA Asset Management into bankruptcy, and there is now court-appointed trustee is investigating what assets may be available to pay its creditors.  In Re IPA Asset Management, EDNY Case No. 25-bk-72526

Anyone with helpful information is welcome to contact me at: S.Kreppein@DevittSpellmanLaw.com