The Real Estate Maneuverings of Former Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen

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Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump‘s former personal lawyer, is currently a subject of multiple ongoing investigations involving possible bank fraud and campaign finance violations. But the executive and struggling taxi medallion magnate has also made headlines for a number of real estate transactions.

Cohen, who began working for Trump in 2006 as an executive in the Trump Organization, has amassed some big-time housing deals. Here’s a quick dossier on his holdings—can you spot a theme?

111 Murray St. in Tribeca 111 Murray St. in Tribeca

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Recently, the 51-year-old purchased a 2,600-square-foot apartment in Tribeca for $6.7 million. The newly completed luxury skyscraper is known for its “outrageous amenities,” including a top-end fitness center, Turkish-style bath, lap pool, private dining room, blowout bar, and even “concierge jet service.” 

In an unusual financing arrangement, Cohen was assisted by the developers, who agreed to a $3.5 million short-term mortgage. The Wall Street Journal notes that the developers are longtime friends of Trump.

Cohen’s unit is on the 19th floor of the 64-floor tower, and has four bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Occupancy of the building is expected to begin this summer. If you’d like to cozy up to Cohen, available units on the market range in price from $4 million to $40 million.

Trump Park Avenue Trump Park Avenue lobby

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Cohen and his wife “pledged their apartment” in Trump Park Avenue as collateral to the bank, as potential liabilities (think large legal bills) pile up. 

According to Bloomberg News, businesses owned by the Cohens owed nearly $13 million on loans initially extended in 2014. Those loans were secured against the once-valuable taxi medallions Cohen owns. (Those medallions have lost as much as 80% of their value with the advent of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft cutting into the yellow-cab business.)

So, his apartment is now hocked against a large loan. The sprawling 10th-floor Manhattan abode combined three units and was valued at $9 million by the bank, Bloomberg notes. (Cohen disputed the numbers in the story.)

Trump World Tower Trump World Tower

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Cohen sold a unit in Trump World Tower for $3.3 million in 2017. He purchased the place in 2001, when the building was just being finished, paying just under $1 million, the Real Deal reports. The 15th-floor apartment appeared to be an investment property, since in 2015 the place had been available for rent for $12,750 a month.

In June, family members joined the World Tower selling parade. Cohen’s in-laws, Fima and Ania Shusterman, put their three apartments in the midtown Manhattan tower (located near the United Nations) on the market for a total ask of $11.2 million. Records indicate the Shustermans own a total of four units in the building, on the 22nd, 42nd, 43rd, and 57th floors.

NYC building flips

In 2014, Cohen, then a top honcho in the Trump Organization, was himself a real estate investor with a “seemingly charmed touch,” as the New York Times noted. He was involved in flipping whole buildings in all-cash deals, netting as much as $20 million in profit.

According to McClatchy DC, in one transaction, a buyer paid $10 million in cash for “a small apartment building on New York’s Lower East Side that Cohen had purchased just three years before for $2 million,” even though the assessed value of the property hadn’t drastically changed.

Three other transactions followed a similar pattern. The deals were masked by an LLC hiding the buyer’s identity. (Cohen responded to the McClatchy story, stating: “The buyer of all four properties is a New York real estate family fund that has been around for almost a century. And yes, they are American.”)

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