BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A Brooklyn woman has been indicted for allegedly defrauding prospective tenants out of approximately $15,800 by falsely advertising an apartment for rent and collecting security deposits and rent payments, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.
Svetlana Katzevman, 62, of Gravesend, Brooklyn, faces charges of fourth-degree grand larceny, petit larceny, and first-degree scheme to defraud. She was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Adam Perlmutter and released without bail. Katzevman is scheduled to return to court on January 29, 2025.
According to the investigation, between January 2022 and July 2024, Katzevman allegedly placed advertisements for a rental apartment at 1800 Ocean Parkway in a Russian-language newspaper, Russkaya Reklama. Victims, many of whom are Russian-speaking and recently arrived immigrants from Ukraine, reportedly paid her between $700 and $2,300, believing the payments covered security deposits and rent.
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the defendant “exploited the trust and vulnerability of her neighbors, many of whom are newly arrived immigrants seeking stability in a new country.”
Authorities allege Katzevman would take cash payments, refuse to provide written leases, and subsequently prevent the victims from moving into the apartment, often by changing the locks. In several instances, she ignored attempts by victims to contact her for a refund.
Among the 12 reported victims, a 38-year-old man paid Katzevman $700 for a security deposit on November 13, 2023, and an additional $700 for the first month’s rent two days later. That same week, she allegedly collected similar payments from a 60-year-old man. In another instance, on April 13, 2024, a 40-year-old man gave her a $1,600 cash deposit, and four days later, a 65-year-old woman paid $2,300.
The victims reported discovering the apartment door locked and their calls and messages to Katzevman unanswered.