“Clever and sneaky” Long Island couple failed to pay their mortgage for at least 14 years, dragged out their foreclosure for more than a decade and refused to leave after a new family bought the house at the bank, according to court records.
To make matters worse, one of the alleged intruders was filmed telling the legal owner to “go back to Pakistan”.
The frustrated owners of the Jericho home say they have paid $85,000 to pay taxes, mortgage payments and other bills, while alleged squatters Barry J. Pollack and his wife Barbara live in their home and own a Mercedes. in the driveway.
“It’s disgusting. . . . I have no guarantee when this guy will leave. It kills me, you know, to see him act like he owns my house,” said Bobby Chawla, who teamed up with his father and other relatives to pay $762,200 for the house in February 2022.
They plan to give the house to Gege, Bobby’s sister, who is six months pregnant, and her husband.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home was sold at a bank auction in 2022 – after the Pollacks managed to delay the sale 13 times in 11 years. Dennis A. Clark
Barry Pollack, 72, initially promised to leave in a month.
But the family pushed back the release date to March 31, 2022 and hasn’t moved since.
The Chawlas filed a lawsuit to evict the Pollacks in Nassau County Housing Court.
“This is not a typical case where a tenant thought they could vacate their unit within a certain time frame and found they needed a little more time,” according to the legal filing. “He is a calculated, shrewd and devious litigator who has perpetrated a scheme against the justice system over the past 15 years. »
Bobby Chawla and his pregnant sister, Gege, say they are “devastated” at not being able to take possession of the house their family bought. Dennis A. Clark
The Pollacks purchased the 1,536-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bath home on Friendly Lane in September 1990 for $255,000, records show.
Although they paid off a mortgage, financial difficulties followed.
They fought in three different courts for 17 years to stay in their home – often without paying regularly.
In 2006, the Pollacks were sued for foreclosure, having failed to pay a $310,000 second mortgage.
They agreed for an undisclosed amount.
In 2008, they were seized again in a case that lasted 11 years as they sought 13 different deadlines, with their debt exceeding $600,000.
In 2012, the Pollacks filed the first of seven bankruptcies, what the Chawlas describe as “frivolous” and “skeletal” petitions that constitute a “direct abuse of the bankruptcy system.”
The last bankruptcy occurred in November – the couple showed up with bankruptcy documents to ward off the Nassau sheriff and the movers who were about to clean out the house.
“Right before they end the eviction, the sheriffs go to sign the eviction, like magic, they stop and jump out of the car with these documents in their hands like they just won the lottery,” said Bobby Chawla, whose parents are originally from India and now live in Lawrence, LI.
The squatters fought in three different courts for 17 years to stay in their homes – often without paying regularly. Dennis A. Clark
Barry Pollack claimed in court papers filed this summer that his family’s efforts to move to Florida had failed and that moving was too difficult at their age.
“I will not survive on the streets if I am ousted,” he said during the trial, citing heart problems.
He has denied abusing the legal system to move into a house for free that is not legally his.
“Inaccurate,” he told the Post, without elaborating. “Right now, I’m just trying to survive.”
Barry Pollack said allegations he “abused” the justice system were “inaccurate”. Dennis A. Clark
He insisted he was “looking for a place to live” and said the legal process was still contested. Pollack accused the Chawlas of harassment, without providing evidence.
The Chawlas denied the allegations and said they were desperate.
Gege Chawla says she dreams of the day she can have “a full-sized crib” that won’t fit in her small apartment.
“It’s not fair,” she said. “We pay what we have to pay. … We did everything according to the law.
2023-12-16 12:55:02
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