Particle.news

Man Who Claimed Ownership of the New Yorker Hotel Pleads Guilty to Forgery

The plea resolves a yearslong dispute born of forged filings after a housing‑law gambit at the Midtown landmark.

Overview

  • Mickey Barreto admitted in court that he filed forged property records purporting to transfer the New Yorker Hotel to himself.
  • He received a six‑month jail sentence credited as time served along with five years of probation, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office.
  • Prosecutors say he uploaded a fake deed, registered the property for utilities in his name, sought rent from a tenant, and pressed for control of the hotel's bank accounts and franchise.
  • The case began after a 2018 one‑night stay and a bid for single‑room occupancy protections that won him possession of a room when the hotel missed a hearing, allowing years of rent‑free living.
  • Barreto was evicted and indicted in 2024 and was at one point found unfit for trial and ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment; he has said he never intended fraud or profited from his actions.