Owner of Williamsburg apartments pleads guilty to $165M mortgage fraud conspiracy

Aaron Valdez, Randy Tucker and Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer
Updated ·4 min read
Boruch Drillman, who manages BRC Williamsburg Holdings LLC, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $165 million in loans and fraudulently acquiring real estate properties, including Williamsburg of Cincinnati Apartments & Townhomes in Hartwell.
Boruch Drillman, who manages BRC Williamsburg Holdings LLC, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining more than $165 million in loans and fraudulently acquiring real estate properties, including Williamsburg of Cincinnati Apartments & Townhomes in Hartwell.

The owner of the Williamsburg of Cincinnati Apartments & Townhomes, who was sued by the City of Cincinnati earlier this year for issues regarding the complex's living conditions, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to engaging in several mortgage fraud schemes.

Boruch “Barry” Drillman of New York admitted to fraudulently obtaining more than $165 million in loans and fraudulently acquiring real estate properties in Ohio and Michigan, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

In March 2019, Williamsburg of Cincinnati Apartments & Townhomes, a 976-unit apartment community in Hartwell, was acquired for $70 million by BRC Williamsburg Holdings LLC, which was managed by Drillman. However, Drillman and co-conspirators from Rhodium Capital Advisors used a stolen identity to present a lender and Fannie Mae with an inflated purchase price and sale contract for $95.85 million, along with other fictitious documents.

Drillman also managed Troy Technology Holdings LLC and led a similar fraud scheme in September 2020. He and co-conspirators purchased Troy Technology Park, a commercial office complex in Troy, Michigan, for $42.7 million but then presented the lender with a fraudulent purchase and sale contract for $70 million.

Court documents show that Drillman was the guarantor for both mortgage loans.

Drillman pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16 and now faces a maximum five-year prison sentence, the Department of Justice said.

“Prosecuting bad-acting landlords who take advantage of Cincinnatians is a top priority of mine,” City Manager Sheryl Long said in a news release from the City of Cincinnati. “While this federal court case does not directly impact our ongoing litigation here in Cincinnati, Mr. Drillman’s guilty plea is further evidence of just how immoral this ownership group’s behavior was."

City targeted Williamsburg of Cincinnati apartments for numerous violations, unlivable conditions

Drillman and BRC Williamsburg Holdings LLC came under fire in January as the City of Cincinnati filed a public nuisance lawsuit for violations regarding the complex's living conditions, which were underscored by multiple incidents in which dozens of residents were displaced from their units in late 2022.

A number of Williamsburg tenants were left without running water on Thanksgiving last year after a water line failed in the complex. A month later on Christmas, tenants were again forced to evacuate their apartments because they were living without water or heat or forced to deal with apartments that had been flooded after pipes burst due to the cold.

In addition, city inspectors discovered dozens of building code violations at the property on 200 W. Galbraith Road, including broken doors and windows, and generally unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

During a Jan. 10 press conference to announce the suit, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said Williamsburg owners have shown a “pattern of neglectful behavior that has created conditions no one should be forced to live in."

The lawsuit requested that the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas order Williamsburg owners to fix all issues in a timely manner. If the owners failed, the lawsuit requested that the court appoint a receiver, who will make the necessary repairs.

In June, John Rothschild of Newmark, a Columbus-based real estate management company, was appointed to take over ownership and management of Williamsburg of Cincinnati after Williamsburg Holdings LLC failed to follow the court order to resolve issues in a timely manner.

Rothschild has been tasked with collecting rents, overseeing repairs and preparing the property for a possible sale.

At the same court hearing at which Rothschild was appointed, Hamilton County Judge Tom Heekin approved the consolidation of all concurrent lawsuits against BRC Williamsburg Holdings LLC, including a foreclosure case from mortgage lender Fannie Mae, according to the City of Cincinnati.

A hotspot for evictions

Rothschild, who declined to comment when contacted by The Enquirer, informed Heekin in August that he planned to pursue evictions of about 70 of the most delinquent tenants at the apartments, according to court records.

The apartment complex had a 43% delinquency rate and was missing $389,376 in late rent payments in July, according to Rothschild's initial report to the court.

Since the pandemic, Williamsburg of Cincinnati has garnered a shaky reputation in the eviction category. The Enquirer reported the apartment complex was one of the top eviction hot spots in the local area in late 2021.

From March 15, 2020 to Oct. 9, 2021, 276 eviction cases were filed against tenants of the Williamsburg of Cincinnati apartments, the most by a single landlord in Hamilton County.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Williamsburg of Cincinnati apartments owner admits to mortgage fraud