Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. today announced the all-count trial conviction of PENNY BRADLEY, 59, a real estate developer, for forging signatures to obtain an $11.5 million residential mortgage loan and conceal her multi-year theft of company funds as the managing member of a townhouse renovation project. BRADLEY was also convicted of stealing $500,000 from an investor on a second townhouse renovation project. BRADLEY was convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury of Residential Mortgage Fraud in the First Degree, two counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree. She is expected to be sentenced on June 24, 2024. 

“Penny Bradley not only stole more than $750,000 from investors, she forged their signatures to obtain an $11.5 million loan in an attempt to cover up the theft,” said District Attorney Bragg. “In order to perpetuate her fraud and continue to live beyond her means, she also stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a second company that invested in her supposed townhouse renovations. I thank the jury for its service on this complex case, and the prosecutors who secured a conviction that underscores our commitment to prosecuting all forms of embezzlement and protecting the integrity of the lending market in New York City.” 

According to the indictment and documents filed in court, and as proven at trial, from 2014 to 2016, BRADLEY violated her duties as the managing member of 46 East 82nd Street LLC by comingling company funds in her personal bank account, and stole company funds for personal expenses, unrelated business ventures, and personal debts. 

In March 2014, BRADLEY formed 46 East 82nd Street LLC to acquire, renovate, and sell a townhouse at 46 East 82nd Street. As managing member, BRADLEY was solely responsible for overseeing the renovation and potential sale of the townhouse and safeguarding company money and property, including funds invested by members of 46 East 82nd Street LLC and two loans from Alpine Capital Bank. 

In 2015, in order to pay a personal debt, and without informing her investors, BRADLEY obtained a loan from New Zealand lender Global Payment Services Limited (“GPS”) and agreed to allow GPS to record a lien against the 46 East 82nd Street townhouse. Subsequently, BRADLEY defaulted on the loan and GPS recorded a $2.6 million mortgage against the townhouse. 

In 2016, BRADLEY attempted to refinance the GPS mortgage with a new junior mortgage from Atlas Union Corp (“Atlas”). Atlas and First American Title Insurance Company (“First American”), the title insurance company insuring the loan, required the defendant to obtain a new company operating agreement signed by all members informing the members of the GPS loan. In July and August 2016, BRADLEY attempted to finalize the new operating agreement by lying to her investors about the purpose of the new loan, but ultimately failed to obtain all the necessary signatures. 

Then, in late August 2016, Atlas agreed to refinance the existing loans from both Alpine and GPS with a loan for $11.5 million to 46 East 82nd Street LLC. However, to obtain this loan, Atlas required the defendant to get written consent of a majority in interest of members of 46 East 82nd Street LLC, consistent with the requirements of the company operating agreement. 

On September 7, 2016, BRADLEY emailed her attorney the “Consent of Majority in Interest of Members of 46 East 82nd Street LLC” and its six signatures pages for purposes of closing on the Atlas loan. The signature pages included forged signatures of at least two LLC members. Two days later, on September 9, 2016, the defendant signed the required loan documents on behalf of 46 East 82nd Street LLC and certified to the validity of the signatures on the Consent of Majority in Interest of Members of 46 East 82nd Street LLC document to close on the $11.5 million Atlas loan. 

Additionally, in June 2016, BRADLEY made a series of false representations regarding the status of a second townhouse renovation project on East 62nd Street in New York County, to induce a Chilean company, Inversiones Eurocel Limitada, to transmit $500,000 for what was purported to be an investment in the townhouse. Over the next two months, BRADLEY spent the investment funds on personal expenditures unrelated to the second townhouse renovation. Thereafter, BRADLEY purposefully omitted Inversiones Eurocel Limitada as a member of 52 East 64th Street LLC in company documents in order to conceal that theft.

Assistant D.A.s Jaime Hickey-Mendoza and Jeff Levinson handled the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Mike Ohm (Chief of the Major Economic Crimes Bureau), Judy Salwen (Principal Deputy Chief of the Rackets Bureau) and Jodie Kane (Chief of the Rackets Bureau and Acting Chief of the Investigation Division). Forensic Accountant Investigator Wei Man Tang assisted with the investigation, under the supervision of Irene Serrapica, Deputy Chief of FAFI, and Robert Demarest, Chief of FAFI. Senior Rackets Investigator Samuel Morales, former Supervising Rackets Investigator Donato Siciliano, Investigative Analyst Robert Woolf, Paralegals William Barsky and Scott Kauffman, and Forensic Accountant Investigator Regina Lau also assisted with the case. 

Defendant Information 

PENNY BRADLEY 

New York, New York 

Convicted: 

• Residential Mortgage Fraud in the First Degree, a class B felony, 1 count
• Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, 2 counts
• Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, a class D felony, 2 counts 

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