Keith Larsen

Nir Meir appeared out of nowhere and became managing principal of one of NYC’s largest developers. Now he's in Rikers. A lot has been speculated about how, and why, he did what he did. I've been reporting on him for years. Here is the definitive story. therealdeal.com/magazine/april…

@kshaughnessy2 therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

$222 Million “Systemic” Fraud Bomb Hits Commercial Real Estate Lender - where is the financial media?? Major commercial real estate lender, Walker & Dunlop, admits in its filings that it had to buy back or cover $221.6 million in bad loans sold to government-backed agencies (GSEs) since 2024. The problems?? Borrowers faking details about property values, ownership, and especially inflating income from the buildings to make loans look safer than they were. “…And then it used a word that should have generated considerably more coverage than it did. It called the risk “systemic, and no longer anecdotal.”… ….Private credit filled the CRE lending void aggressively over the past eighteen months. Several large platforms are now gating redemptions. When that capital pulls back, and the signals suggest it will, the extend-and-pretend dynamic that has kept many loans from triggering formal review will begin to unwind. Delinquencies will rise. Repurchase reviews will follow. And the loans underwritten on optimistic inputs rather than verified performance data will begin to surface….” - @m3_melody @UnicusResearch contrarianunicus.substack.com/p/the-fraud-sc…

Here's more about Weiss's troubles. therealdeal.com/new-york/2025/…

Mordichai Weiss appears to be the latest to be charged as part of a sprawling investigation into commercial mortgage fraud.

A Herald Square hotel renovation was a disaster. For Jeffrey Epstein, it was an opportunity for loyalty therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

"These internal issues have stalled a sprawling mortgage fraud investigation where participants sought to obtain larger loans from lenders by flipping properties to themselves or inflating rent rolls."

New: Commercial mortgage fraud probe hampered by mess in the NJ prosecutor's office. therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

@m3_melody @UnicusResearch @trdny finds it interesting as well. I first wrote about the broadening investigation into mortgage fraud two years ago. therealdeal.com/magazine/may-2…

Did you hear about the fraud at Walker & Dunlop? Wasn't interesting enough for Bloomberg or the WSJ I found it very interesting My latest @UnicusResearch

Walker and Dunlop reveals $134M in mortgage fraud, but pins the blame one one "banking team." Sources told The Real Deal the “team” in question was led by former senior managing director Jared Sobel. therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

Disgraced HFZ Capital Group exec Nir Meir could head to trial in September therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

Jeffrey Epstein surrounded himself with sultans, former heads of state, British royalty to cultivate the image of a high-flying financier. But in real estate, Epstein often leaned on a down-on-his-luck New York City developer with a trail of lawsuits therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

Jeffrey Epstein turned to New York developer David Mitchell for connections and deals. It didn’t turn out well for Epstein. therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

@JenMcAdamUK Email me at kl@therealdeal.com

@TheKeithLarsen @TheKeithLarsen do you have further articles/information that I can read that is not under a subscription?

The Financial Times' due diligence newsletter mentioned my story about Moshe Silber's missing $200 million.

Palisades Center mall auctioned off to lender Black Diamond Capital therealdeal.com/new-york/trist… | More good news. I love my subscription to @trdny

Could Elliot Management’s purchase of City Office REIT be a sign of more REIT acquisitions? therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

Two title company employees, Keya Hamilton and Kelly West were also indicted.

Big mortgage fraud news: Vision & Beyond owners Stanislav Grinberg and Peter Gizunterman indicted for $50 million scheme where they allegedly double-pledged properties to obtain loans. justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/g…

“[P]romises of cooperation were made and broken many times over the months." Chetrit Group's departing attorney gives a unusual descriptive account of his problems dealing with the NYC development group by @lilah_burke therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/…

Miki Naftali became a major player in New York City overnight when he purchased The Plaza over a decade ago. Now he’s back doing deals on the level of The Plaza, paying a record price for a site on Fifth Avenue. My latest w/ @ByRichBockmann therealdeal.com/magazine/janua…

Breaking: Former Paramount Group CEO Albert Behler pulls a George Constanza. Behler showed up to work this morning despite getting canned by Paramounts new owner Rithm Capital, per sources. He was then escorted out of his office. therealdeal.com/new-york/2025/…

Moshe Silber, a co-conspirator in major mortgage fraud scheme in Cincinnati, was released to a halfway house in New York, according to Bureau of Prisons. In March, Silber was sentenced to 30-months for wire fraud. H/T @hitsamty