Charles Cohen Goes After Fortress For $204M After Paying Off Debt
There may yet be more bloodshed in the battle between Charles Cohen and Fortress Investment Group.
A week after paying off a $187M judgment to Fortress, the billionaire developer is seeking $203.7M from the lender via a separate lawsuit, according to a new court filing.
“Mr. Cohen is committed to pursuing his defenses and counterclaims against Fortress for substantial damages,” Kevin Nash, Cohen’s attorney, wrote in a Thursday letter to the court.
The statement from Cohen’s attorney follows a June 18 letter submitted to the court by Fortress, days before the developer paid off the balance of the judgment, Crain's New York Business reported.
In the note, Fortress indicated that it planned to continue its two other suits against Cohen over property loan guarantees and the developer’s transfers of personal assets that Fortress calls “fraudulent.”
Cohen plans to file a motion to dismiss the suit and will pursue counterclaims for the damages from Fortress, his attorney said in the letter.
Cohen could not be reached for comment. A representative for Fortress declined to comment.
The courtroom sparring between Cohen and Fortress kicked off almost two years ago, when Fortress sued Cohen for defaulting on a $534M loan originated in 2022. But after a four-property portfolio auction failed to shore up enough to cover the debt, Fortress went after Cohen for a $187M personal guarantee.
But Cohen and Fortress disagree on why the auction didn’t work out: Cohen claimed that the lender mishandled property auctions, while Fortress alleged that Cohen sold off his less valuable properties to stall paying the nine-figure sum in full.
In an additional suit, Fortress alleged that Cohen acted to block the lender from seizing his assets after Cohen transferred some, including a yacht docked in a Northern Italian marina and a $20M Connecticut home, to family members.
It’s unclear exactly how Cohen cobbled together the cash to pay off the sum he owed Fortress last week. He sold off two office buildings at 623 Fifth Ave. and 3 E. 54th St. for $359M to Vornado last year, but only $52M from that sale went toward the sum that Cohen owed the lender, according to a court filing.
Cohen also netted $110M at the beginning of this month when he sold two Midtown pieces of land to Empire State Realty Trust.
Another lender is now chasing him for defaulting on a $150M loan at a separate property. Last week, a judge ordered that the 18-story Upper East Side showroom known as the Decoration & Design Building be placed in receivership after trustee Deutsche Bank filed a foreclosure suit on behalf of the property’s bondholders.
