A Brooklyn Dealmaker’s Legal Avalanche

11 minutes read

Brooklyn dealmaker Bert I. Dweck is staring down a legal avalanche that reads less like a routine business dispute and more like a slow-motion collapse.

Dweck, of Dweck Group, faces seven lawsuits in New York state court seeking at least $14.4 million over allegations that include unpaid loans, diverted escrow funds and checks tied to frozen or nonexistent accounts. The complaints sketch out a network of investors and lenders who claim they kept wiring money into deals.

According to multiple lawsuits, Dweck allegedly pitched acquisitions, collected deposits or partnership capital and then failed to close deals or return funds. In one December complaint, five companies tied to Patriarch President Capital accused Dweck of stealing $2.8 million connected to properties at 1526 Grand Concourse in the Bronx and 4188 and 4910 Broadway in Manhattan.

Investors alleged that Dweck supplied fraudulent documents and that escrow money was improperly released by attorney Jacques Erdos.

Dweck denied the allegations, while Erdos, through counsel, denied wrongdoing and said the claims against him lack merit.

But the lawsuits kept coming. Bronx supermarket owners Luis Manuel Diaz and Senelda Diaz alleged Dweck and associate Mark Benun convinced them to pour more than $2.8 million into two Bronx transactions that never materialized.

One involved a neighboring property whose owner allegedly had no record of receiving payment. Another centered on a former Apple Bank site, where an LLC created for the acquisition was later dissolved without buying the asset.

Then there are the lenders. Brooklyn investor Gary Porat alleged Dweck defaulted on nearly $6 million in loans and attempted repayment with 130 bounced checks and failed ACH transfers totaling roughly $5.5 million. Another lender, Mordechai Samet, claimed Dweck and affiliates issued $1.9 million in bad checks tied to insufficient, frozen or nonexistent accounts.

The sheer volume of allegations is what makes the saga notable. Real estate has always run on leverage and relationships, particularly in Brooklyn’s insular investment circles.

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