Security Deposit Stolen by Landlord Charli Li

The landlord of 704 Grand St, Brooklyn , NY 11211 -- Charlie Li -- stole our security deposit. Before we moved out, we served him 2 months notice of our departure. We had kept the apartment in pristine condition and cleaned extensively before leaving. I contacted him multiple times after we moved out regarding the security deposit, and when he finally wrote back after 45 days of us vacating, he... [more]

The landlord of 704 Grand St, Brooklyn , NY 11211 -- Charlie Li -- stole our security deposit. Before we moved out, we served him 2 months notice of our departure. We had kept the apartment in pristine condition and cleaned extensively before leaving. I contacted him multiple times after we moved out regarding the security deposit, and when he finally wrote back after 45 days of us vacating, he listed a series of false damages. I contacted other tenants of the building who moved out and they experienced the same thing--Charlie claimed we had all damaged the apartment in ways we never had, and was claiming the security deposit as a result. We tried to reason with him, but after one reply to us he vanished from contact. The other tenants experienced the same problem. Since then, we have tried to file a lawsuit, but no one has a real address for Charlie, including the brokerage company with who we signed the contract. It's been 4 months and we have neither received our money nor heard from Charlie Li. I would NOT recommend moving into 704 Grand St or any other building associated with Charli Li. If anyone has advice for how to proceed, we would greatly appreciate it! [less]