NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 8: The New Yorker Hotel is illuminated as seen from the EdgeNYC observation deck at Hudson Yards as the sun rises on November 8, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - A man who lived at The New Yorker Hotel rent-free for five years pleaded guilty to fraud on Wednesday after falsely claiming to own the storied building, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Barreto sought rent, utilities and bank account control at hotel, prosecutors say
What we know:
Mickey Barreto admitted in court to forging property records to claim ownership of the hotel, and prosecutors said he also defrauded the state by uploading a fake deed to a city website asserting ownership of the entire building.
According to prosecutors, Barreto also attempted to collect rent from another tenant. In a statement issued last year, prosecutors additionally said that Baretto registered the hotel "under his name with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection for water and sewage payments" and demanded that "the hotel’s bank transfer its accounts to him."
What they're saying:
"As alleged, Mickey Barreto repeatedly and fraudulently claimed ownership of one of the City’s most iconic landmarks, The New Yorker Hotel," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in 2024.
Barreto said that his actions in this case were an effort to deny profits to the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity.
The church has been criticized by some over its relationship with North Korea, according to the AP.
Mickey Barreto was sentenced to six months in prison, time he has already served, and five years of probation, a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney said.
The New Yorker Hotel Building sign lit in neon and surrounding buildings at dusk. (Photo by ANDREW HOLBROOKE/Corbis via Getty Images)
Loophole law
The backstory:
As told by the AP, after moving to New York from Los Angeles in 2018 and paying $200 for a one-night stay at The New Yorker, Barreto's boyfriend informed him of a loophole in New York City housing law regarding buildings constructed before 1969—the hotel was built in 1930.
Barreto's boyfriend claimed that their one-night stay entitled them to a six-month lease, according to the AP. The hotel refused him, and so Baretto took his case to court. When the hotel failed to send a lawyer to the hearing, Baretto was able to take "possession" of the room, where he ended up living rent-free for half a decade.
Eventually, Barreto was evicted in 2024 and charged with multiple counts of felony fraud. He was then ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment and deemed unfit to stand trial, as noted by the AP.
"I never intended to commit any fraud. I don’t believe I ever committed any fraud," Barreto previously said in court. "And I never made a penny out of this."
The Source: Information in this article was sourced from The Associated Press, The New Yorker Hotel's website and The Diplomat.