By Phil Corso
A notorious Queens developer pleaded guilty to developing and selling condos in Elmhurst after a 1999 court order banned them from the business, the state attorney general said.
Tommy Huang, 59, and his wife Alice, 60, entered felony guilty pleas in Queens Supreme Court and will cough up $3.3 million in illegal profits and $1.5 million in penalties in lieu of jail time, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Wednesday.
The guilty pleas related back to a 1999 court order that barred the Huangs from selling condominiums and other cooperate realty interests in the state. The state imposed the ban because the couple cheated homebuyers and failed to pay common charges on unsold apartments at the Flushing Tower Condominium, the AG said.
This time around, the attorney general said the couple conspired with their son Henry Huang, 35, to sell condo units at the Elmhurst Broadway Tower Condominium, a property they developed in 2008.
“Today we are holding Tommy and Alice Huang and their son accountable for fraudulent business practices,” Schneiderman said. “We’re requiring the Huangs to pay back their ill-gotten gains with a hefty fine that sends the message — enough is enough.”
The couple’s plea agreement required both Tommy and Alice Huang to give up their ownership of the Elmhurst condos and pay back their profits, Schneiderman said. They will also be blocked along with their son from construction and real estate in New York for at least five years.
In 1999, Huang pleaded guilty to damaging the landmarked interior of the RKO Keith’s Theatre in downtown Flushing and was sentenced to five years’ probation by the attorney general’s office.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
