By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-14 19:36:11 | Updated at 2024-12-14 21:36:43
2 hours ago
Suzanne Seggerman has always been incredibly proud of her New York City home.
The historic four-bedroom Manhattan loft has been featured in dozens of films, TV shows and commercials - most recently appearing in Sofia Coppola's comedy On the Rocks and a Chanel ad directed by Martin Scorsese starring Timothy Chalamet.
Similar apartments in the building on celebrity hotspot Bond Street have been listed for $5 million or more.
But out of the blue, Seggerman, 62, was left living a nightmare after a 'monster' tenant completely trashed the iconic property.
It has since emerged that she was not the only landlord targeted, with scores of lawsuits for hundreds of thousands of dollars filed against the same man dating back decades and spanning cities, not only across America but the globe.
He has even been compared to con artist Anna Delvey, who posed as a wealthy heiress to access upper-class New York social and art scene.
Seggerman's ordeal began in July 2021.
She has rented out the 2,400 square-foot NoHo property, which she purchased in 1993, for years. And after losing her job in the pandemic, it was at that point her sole source of income.
As it was during Covid, Seggerman, who now lives in Connecticut with her husband Mike, interviewed prospective tenant Han Lo, a 38-year-old architect, on Zoom.
On paper he seemed perfect.
Seggerman's Bond Street loft that she purchased in 1993 is located on one of New York City’s last cobblestone streets
Suzanne Seggerman's home that she purchased in 1993 is a one-of-a-kind artist's loft on Bond Street that features floor-to-ceiling windows, a built-in bookcase, tin ceilings. It is so iconic that many films, commercials and TV shows have been produced in the space over the years
Han Lo pictured standing in front of a ladder and tools in one of the rooms he turned into a demolition site
He appeared to meet all the criteria, with a stellar profession and a robust enough bank balance to afford the $13,500 a month rent.
He also had prominent memberships in the art sector, which was a must since all tenants are required to work in the creative arts industry.
Seggerman described him as 'charming and funny' - even sharing a mutual acquaintance. She checked references and the co-op board gave its approval.
Feeling confident, she swiftly agreed to a two-year tenancy. However, just weeks after being handed the keys he turned her home into a demolition site.
'He demolished three out of four bedrooms, he tore down five closets, four walls of bookshelves, ripped out all the baseboards, thermostats,' Seggerman told DailyMail.com. 'It was so insane ...so violating and distressing.'
She said her neighbors had assumed Lo had permission from her and a building permit to tear down the walls.
It was not until July 18 that she got a call from the building manager who told what was going on in her apartment.
When she arrived with her husband and architect friend, Zhenya Mekulova, she was horrified.
When Zhenya asked Lo what he was doing and told him that it wasn't his apartment, he became enraged and punched her in the face, according to Seggerman.
He also allegedly slammed the door on her fingers when she tried to get away, breaking some of the bones in her her hands.
Mekulova filed a police report for assault, but officers told Seggerman when they arrived at her apartment that she would have to go to housing court to get Lo to leave.
Seggerman's lawyer David Tendler filed a TRO - temporary restraining order - that prohibited Lo from continuing any demolition on the apartment.
However, when she and her husband went to the building to check if he was following suit, she saw additional evidence of his destruction. Her attorney filed a contempt of court citation. The letter stated that failure to appear in court would lead to arrest.
Suzanne Seggerman in her Bond Street loft with her husband and daughter
BEFORE: The former bedroom of Seggerman's daughter before the demolition- the room is no longer there
The 'After' photo shows a construction site that was once a cozy bedroom - piles of debris, sheetrock, and hanging electrical wire
Seggerman's attorney David Tendler served Lo with a contempt of court citation in August 2021
In early September, once Lo discovered that he and his partner, Leo Farjardo were being watched on a ring camera that Seggerman had installed, they fled.
Seggerman filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court in late 2021. A year later, her case was granted a stay but it is unclear when or if proceedings will begin.
The entire process, she told DailyMail.com, has been devastating.
Seggerman claimed the total damages added up to around $400,000, once legal fees and the loft’s loss of value were included.
She said she used every penny her insurance company gave her but was still only able to afford to put the apartment back to basics, losing two bedrooms as a result of the destruction.
It also took nearly six months to complete all the repairs.
Seggerman said Lo believes 'the rules do not apply to him, and everyone I have spoken to compares him to Anna Delvey.'
And when she began looking into housing-court records, she soon uncovered dozens of other alleged victims - ranging from landlords to businesses.
The claims went back more than two decades, and spanned cities including New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Paris, London, Zurich and Basel, Switzerland.
According to legal filings obtained by DailyMail.com, Thomas Windish, a music producer and landlord in Los Angeles, California, was awarded a default judgement lien for $26,290 in 2017 over rent that Lo owed.
In 2019, Pentagram, a NYC graphic-design firm, filed a lawsuit seeking $188,000 after Lo failed to pay his bills. The Supreme Court of New York again ruled against Lo in 2021 and Pentagram was awarded the full amount.
In 2022, New York landlord Justin Bradburn was awarded $165,000 by the New York Supreme Court for Lo's non-payment, damages to his property and legal fees after filing a lawsuit in 2020.
BEFORE: Lo tore down a second bedroom in Seggerman's four-bedroom Bond Street loft
AFTER: Lo's boyfriend Leonardo is pictured in the same room August 2021 - walls had been torn down that is evident in the ceiling, and all the furnishings were removed
Even the legendary Colonial House - home to Hollywood icons Cary Grant, Bette Davis, and more recently pop singer Katie Perry - was allegedly subjected to Lo's wrath.
He trashed the place after he got an eviction notice, Los Angeles realtor Rory Barish told Seggerman in her first-person piece for New York Magazine Curbed.
His alleged trail of deceit continues internationally.
A former colleague in Tokyo, Takeshi Soshi, told Curbed he was swindled out of $20,000 into a modular-housing start-up.
Seggerman told DailyMail.com she believes there are dozens more victims out there who may have been too tentative to pursue a case.
'Some are embarrassed that they fell for it,' she theorized.
'They shouldn't be because he was very convincing,' she said. 'Many victims said the same thing: he knew exactly what I wanted to hear.'
Bradburn, a former British Army Infantry Officer, spoke to DailyMail.com about his ordeal after he rented his West Village brownstone to Lo in June of 2019.
He explained that Lo paid him the two-month deposit and four months of rent up front - $140,000 in cash that covered June, July, August and September, and commission and brokers fees.
Bradburn said the day he paid him the sum in cash, he thought 'that's not chump change... where does he get his money?'
His curiosity quickly turned to suspicion when Lo was delinquent on his rent payment in October.
Lo is pictured in sleeveless tee and shorts on building surveillance hauling a black garbage bag full of debris out of Seggerman's loft to the alley
On July 18, 2021, Seggerman was horrified when she saw all the debris from her apartment placed in garbage bags in the alley (Credit: Suzanne Seggerman)
Bradburn explained under New York City law you are not allowed to do a background check on tenants, which he called 'completely asinine'.
When he did his own criminal background check, he discovered 'this is not someone who can't pay his rent this month... this is a bad guy.'
When Lo allegedly threatened him with physical harm, Bradburn told him he was 'messing with the wrong guy,' and after two days Lo was out.
He explained that Lo made up these 'horses**t excuses why he hasn't paid'.
When he was in New York on business travel, Bradburn, who lives in Singapore, stopped off to see, Lo but he refused to come to the door.
Their exchanges became more heated, with Bradburn telling Lo to pay up or get out.
Like Seggerman, he felt that Lo had checked off the boxes on paper as a prospective tenant.
'He provides background checks, reference letters, and bank statements that all legitimize his viability as a candidate to rent the home,' he said. 'On the face of it - it stands up.'
Han Lo's LinkedIn profile. Seggerman discovered that Lo is not an architect, and he never graduated from the prestigious Harvard University nor did he study in Paris - and that all his experience, licenses and certifications may have all been a farce
A different closet Lo destroyed shows a non-working window and the massive destruction
Clean up begins weeks after Lo flees Seggerman's Bond Street loft
Bradburn told DailyMail.com that Lo is 'a scum*** and an arrogant p***k.'
In the end, Bradburn estimated that Lo caused about $60,000 in damages after ripping down two expensive chandeliers worth $50,000 and marking up his wooden floors. This was on top of unpaid rent and legal fees.
From there, determined not to let Lo off the hook, Bradburn hired a lawyer specializing in recovering money.
Despite the ruling in his favor, Lo still owes him $165,000.
Lo did not immediately respond to the DailyMail.com's request for comment.
