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The infamous Trump Tower has a rather colorful history—and not just because the 86-year-old building across from the New York Stock Exchange is Donald Trump’s most valuable property. Since Trump took over the property in 1995 it has housed an assortment of rather scandalous characters—including frauds, thieves and penny stock scammers.
At least 29 current and former business execs have faced or are currently facing criminal charges from prosecutors for alleged scams that took place during their stay at the tower. Take a look at Bisnow’s list of the top five most interesting convicted tenants.
Rosabianca & Associates
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Tenant: Former, 30th Floor
Business: Law Firm
Conviction: Grand Larceny
Luigi Rosabianca was a NY lawyer who specialized in brokering luxury property deals for foreign investors prior to his conviction. He was beloved by the media and a partner at Rosabianca & Associates on the 30th floor of the Trump Building.
But that all changed October 2015 when he was charged with stealing more than $4.4M from six separate clients.
Rosabianca pleaded guilty to grand larceny and will be sentenced this month to 12 years, according to attorney Robert Schalk.
Wolf Hedge
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Tenant: Former, 28th Floor
Business: Investment Manager
Conviction: Fraud
A financial whiz, Mark Malik was convicted of swindling more than $800k from investors in his hedge fund last March. When investors attempted to withdraw money from the fake fund, he feigned a heart attack. The former investment manager is serving five to 15 years.
Essex & York
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Tenant: Former, 33th Floor
Business: Stockbroker
Conviction: Pump & Dump
In 2006 the brokerage firm and its employees were among those charged with a “pump and dump scheme.” They cold-called investors and convinced them to invest in a temp agency, turning around and selling their own shares when the stock rose. Seven pleaded guilty and one died before the proceedings.
DirectView Holdings
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Tenant: Current, 62nd Floor
Business: Video surveillance and teleconferencing
Conviction: Bribery
CEO Rodger Ralston was convicted of bribing government employees to buy videoconferencing equipment in 2000. Though the exec spent five months in a halfway house in 2001, DirectView was not charged with wrongdoing, according to Bloomberg. It's now a publicly traded penny stock.
The David Firm
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Tenant: Former, 60th Floor
Business: Law Firm
Conviction: Immigration Fraud
Earl David, namesake of the Manhattan law firm, was convicted for using faulty employment claims in what officials are calling one of the largest immigration frauds in US history. He was sentenced in 2013 to five years in prison.
