Like many New Yorkers who have had bad experiences with real estate
agents, Tanya Mejia took to Yelp in September 2014 to give brokerage
Chrome Residential a one-star review. “Not only are these guys
unprofessional, but they are crooks,” she wrote. “Do yourself a favor
and stay clear of this company.”
To retrieve a $2,000 security deposit from her broker, she then went
to Small Claims Court and obtained a judgment against Chrome, which the
broker refused to pay unless she removed her Yelp review, according to a
New York Department of State investigation. Mejia then filed a consumer
complaint with the DOS, and finally, more than two years after the
initial incident, an administrative law judge revoked the real estate broker’s license in September 2016.
But as far as the state’s public database of licensing decisions
is concerned, this never happened. A search for the agent’s name
(“Jacob Benchlouch”) only turns up two duplicate files for an earlier
dismissed complaint, omitting any record that he was sanctioned for
“engaging in deceptive acts and practices.” (Benchlouch could not be
reached for comment and Chrome Residential is no longer in operation.)
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Source: The Real Deal, New York (via Empire Report New York)
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