Gothamist75%
Elected officials want DA to investigate rental fraud allegations after Gothamist report 47%
By Catalina Gonella26%
7/16/2026, 4:24:00 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Confirmation Bias, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 19.8% saturation with 198 hits. Analysis detected 1,614 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,001 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 49.2% and a BS Rank of 47% (9,769 of 18,371 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 53.20% of the article peer group.
Elected officials in Queens are calling on local prosecutors to investigate a self-described “real estate advisor” named David Michael after a Gothamist investigation uncovered a pattern of fraud allegations from renters who accused him of stealing their deposits for apartments.
In a letter to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Councilmember Julie Won urged the prosecutor’s office to prioritize an investigation into the complaints.
Won’s district includes Sunnyside, where Michael once operated a real estate business called The Pyramid Group and where many renters said they had been defrauded.
In her letter, which was shared with Gothamist, Won told Katz that she believes the allegations against Michael fall under the scope of the Queens DA’s fraud division.
“I understand that complaints about this individual have been filed with your office,” Won wrote, calling on prosecutors to investigate and “facilitate the recovery” of any deposit money owed to her constituents.
In an interview, Councilmember and chair of the Council’s Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection Harvey Epstein also called on law enforcement officials to investigate.
“I would encourage both the Queens DA and the attorney general to do follow up evaluations because I do think this requires some level of criminal oversight,” he said.
Michael did not respond to a request for comment.
In a previous statement he denied that he stole money “or otherwise engaged in criminal conduct.”
Gothamist spoke with more than a dozen people who accused Michael of taking hundreds to thousands of dollars in deposits for apartments he showed them, and never refunding them when the deals fell through.
Many had said they were asked to pay good-faith deposits to hold apartments before leases were signed, a practice made illegal in 2019.
Records obtained from the Department of State show Michael’s real estate license was revoked in 2015 over similar complaints.
He does not appear in the state’s registry of licensed real estate brokers.
State law prohibits brokers from advertising or taking money for apartments on others’ behalf without a license.
Recent postings on Craigslist show a "Mr D Michael" has continued to advertise apartments using the same phone number that was listed for The Pyramid Group.
Renters caught up in the alleged scams have voiced frustration about what they see as a lack of response by the Queens DA and other local authorities.
Enrique Narváez filed a complaint with Katz’s office in December of last year alleging Michael never returned a $3,000 deposit that Narváez said he paid for a commercial space in Woodside that never materialized.
Just a week after Narváez filed the complaint, Katz’s Housing and Worker Protection Bureau told him it would not pursue criminal charges.
Narváez said he feels there is a gap between what the law says and what rules prosecutors in Queens are willing to enforce.
“Which is insane because it's New York City, there’s supposed to be a big protection for people,” Narváez said.
Prosecutors in other boroughs have taken action in response to other complaints.
This month, a Bronx man named Juan Valoy pleaded guilty in Manhattan and the Bronx to stealing more than $100,000 dollars from 21 people in those boroughs through a rental scam.
Prosecutors in both boroughs accused Valoy of showing apartments he didn’t own or have any permission to rent.
They said he fraudulently took application fees, security deposits and first months’ rents, and then refused to refund the victims when they did not get apartments.
Won’s spokesperson, Elmo Tumbokon, said Katz’s office responded to Won’s letter on Friday, confirming it was now investigating complaints against Michael.
Anna Sokol, Katz’s senior media adviser, did not respond to a request to confirm whether an investigation had been opened.
She also did not answer a detailed list of questions about how the DA’s office has handled complaints against Michael.
Won sent a similar letter to New York Attorney General Letitia James, asking her office to investigate.
James’ spokesperson declined to comment on Won’s request, but her office previously confirmed that it had received four complaints against Michael.
Several renters who spoke with Gothamist said they had tried to report Michael to the police.
NYPD spokesperson Brad Weekes said it is department policy to refer people alleging real estate fraud to small claims court instead of local prosecutors.
At least two dozen people have filed lawsuits against Michael in Queens and Brooklyn small claims courts over the past 14 years.
But even those who won court judgments against Michael said he still never returned their money.
“It's just unbelievable that he's been doing this for so long to so many people, and it seems like he's unstoppable,” said Doris Gomez, who sued Michael in 2019 over a $500 deposit she said he never returned after an apartment never came through.
“I don't care about my money anymore, I just care about some kind of justice being served because he just doesn’t care.”
Won told Gothamist she is pursuing legislation in the City Council that would “raise penalties on bad actor brokers who advertise fake listings” and create a citywide rental registry that would allow renters to verify a listing is real before they pay a deposit.
It’s unclear whether such measures would curb the kind of practices Michael is accused of engaging in.
Many of the renters who spoke with Gothamist said Michael’s listings appeared to be legitimate and that he showed them apartments in person.
At least two people said they paid deposits and successfully moved in.
Narváez and four other people who claim they lost deposits said Michael reached out to them to offer refunds after Gothamist contacted him for comment.
In Narváez’s case, Michael said he would only return the money if Narváez signed a liability release waiving his rights to sue Michael, according to recent emails shared with Gothamist.
Narvaez refused, noting he had a small claims court judgment showing Michael owed him the money.
Narváez said he still hasn’t received a refund.
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