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Green admits fraud in plea

Using a wrong Social Security number may get landlord eight years in prison.

By CARRIE WEIMAR AND BRADY DENNIS
Published November 10, 2006

TAMPA - As a landlord, Steven Green always seemed to stay one step ahead of authorities.

One of his companies incurred record fines by Hillsborough County code enforcement and he paid less than half. He dodged more than $2-million in fines from New York City. And when a bank tried to foreclose on one of his Tampa homes, he simply transferred it to a trust.

But Green's luck may have finally run out.

Green, 41, accepted a plea agreement in U.S. District Court Thursday in which he admitted using a fraudulent Social Security number to obtain loans and failing to file income tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001.

He could face a maximum of eight years in prison, fines of more than $500,000 and orders to pay restitution.

Court documents show that in May 2001, Green applied for a $9-million loan from First Union bank. On the application, he provided a Social Security number "when in fact, as he well knew, such number was not the Social Security number assigned to him," the indictment said.

The $9-million loan for which Green used a fraudulent Social Security number went to purchase the 212-unit Amberwood Apartments, which closed in 2002 after Hillsborough County inspectors found more than 500 code violations.

During 1999, 2000 and 2001, Green also failed to file income tax returns, records show. His respective income those years, according to authorities, was $475,252, $1,158,723 and $1,489,920.

Ready to deal

Dressed in a charcoal gray suit and flanked by his three lawyers, Green answered U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas McCoun's questions with short, direct statements Thursday.

After listing the charges, McCoun told Green he didn't have to accept the plea agreement and was free to go to trial if he wished. Green demurred.

"I'd like to wrap up the plea," Green said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mosakowski said he had been in "protracted negotiations" with Green's attorneys about the deal. He recommended Green be released on his own recognizance.

McCoun agreed, after ordering Green to surrender his passport.

"Good luck to you, sir," McCoun said.

No sentencing date has been scheduled.

Documents show Green listed Amberwood as a personal asset on a financial statement submitted to First Union National Bank when applying for the mortgage in May 2001.

The apartments became a disgrace, garnering a record $1.3-million in code violation fines from Hillsborough County. Inspectors closed the complex in 2002, displacing scores of residents.

Green settled, and Hillsborough County never collected all the code enforcement fines against Green's Amberwood Realty, owner of the Amberwood complex.

Amberwood Realty eventually defaulted on the $9.04-million loan, and the property was sold to a South Florida investment group.

As part of the plea agreement in U.S. District Court, the government agreed not to file further charges in the case and to recommend that Green receive a lenient sentence because he accepted responsibility for his actions.

If Green is sentenced to prison, it won't be his first time behind bars. In 1990, he was charged with criminal contempt of court in New York when he failed to show up for a hearing to explain why he shut off the hot water for 72 days to the tenants of a Queens apartment complex. Green was sentenced to the maximum 30 days in jail, records show.

Divesting holdings

The real estate investor - once listed among New York City's 10 worst landlords - has spent much of the past year divesting himself of Tampa apartment complexes owned by his companies.

According to Hillsborough County records, he has sold at least 10 complexes worth a total of more than $140-million.

Green also sold his $4.2-million Hyde Park mansion to Tampa lawyer Barry Cohen, who is suing Green for trying to back out of the deal.

Cohen said he didn't foresee the troubles he encountered with Green while trying to buy the Hyde Park house. He said he previously had given Green legal advice to help him deal "with a very serious problem."

Cohen said he didn't wish Green any ill will and would not speculate on how the plea might affect the ongoing dispute over the Hyde Park house.

"Our litigation is separate and apart," Cohen said. "I'm not going to hit a guy when he's down, publicly. Now in the litigation, that might be a different story. Litigation is a war."

Times staff writers Jeff Testerman and Justin George contributed to this report. Carrie Weimar can be reached at cweimar@sptimes.com or 813 226-3416 .

[Last modified November 10, 2006, 01:08:39]