After years of litigation, a weight has been lifted off billionaire Charles Cohen.
Cohen has satisfied his debt of more than $187 million to Fortress Investment Group, according to a document filed in New York Supreme Court Thursday.
“Charles Cohen has always honored his personal obligations,” said David López, general counsel of Cohen Brothers Realty. “The pay-off of the outstanding balance of the Fortress judgment is consistent with Mr. Cohen’s integrity and confirms his character as an honorable businessman.”
The debt payment begins to close the book on Cohen’s legal saga with the creditor, who pursued him for guarantees related to defaults on a $534 million loan portfolio. The dispute and eventual judgment against Cohen led him to sell several Manhattan towers. Fortress, however, says it’s not done with Cohen and will keep pursuing other claims against him, potentially leading to other judgments.
Cohen has likely paid more than $200 million to satisfy the judgment after attorneys’ fees and interest on the debt.
The fight dates back to 2022, when borrowers connected to Cohen took out more than $500 million with him signing a guaranty agreement on the transaction. Fortress sued in 2024 and Cohen ultimately lost the properties that backed the original portfolio later that year, when Fortress took them in what was among the largest UCC foreclosures of all time.
An appellate court decided in Fortress’s favor in February 2025, and a lower court entered the $187 million judgment one month later.
That didn’t end the skirmish. The lender accused Cohen of shielding his assets, and Cohen declared he was working hard to satisfy the debt. A receiver for Cohen’s ownership interests was appointed by the court this past March.
Cohen sold off both 623 Fifth Avenue, a 36-story tower, and 3 East 54th Street, a 19-story tower, to Vornado Realty Trust for $218 million and $141 million, respectively. Those deals generated $52 million in cash. He later sold the ground beneath two Midtown assets, 111 West 33rd Street and 1400 Broadway, to Empire State Realty Trust for $110 million, according to Bisnow.
Fortress still has other cases pending against the billionaire. Those include cases related to a $30 million carry guaranty and an alleged fraudulent transfer of assets. The lender intends to keep pursuing those and may need to enforce further judgments against Cohen in the future, according to a letter to the court from Fortress’s attorneys.
Earlier this year, Cohen lost 750 Lexington Avenue, home of Cohen Brothers headquarters, at a foreclosure auction.
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