The Brooklyn couple charged with scamming $59,000 out of Medicaid while having over $2 million in the bank may also have been sleazy landlords. Ariel Soudry and his father, Abraham, are currently suspected of overcharging renters at eight LES apartments. Gothamist commenter HughGass claims Soudry was his former landlord and calls him "a real piece of $hit. This is his scam real estate company that rents out rent stabilized units in his father's building (maybe grandfather's) at illegally inflated market rents. If you had a dispute with him over something stupid he'd go to the basement and turn off your power." Another anonymous source told the Daily News the same thing.
While they were allegedly too poor to pay for health insurance, the Soudry's were renting out apartments for as much as $3,100 a month. Ariel Soudry is also being sued by a woman who said her Brighton Beach building was damaged when he built condos next door. They allegedly made her a lowball offer, and when she refused to budge they built around her and damaged her home. Of course, the swindling may just run in the family; Abraham Soudry pleaded guilty two years ago for offering $1,550 as a bribe to an undercover investigator posing as a building inspector.
