Lawsuit Accuses Rapid Realty Executives Of Fraud
Rapid Realty and its former owner Anthony Lolli are facing yet another fraud allegation.
The Brooklyn-based rental brokerage’s owner, Yves Jean-Baptiste, filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against Lolli and other past executives, claiming company leadership unlawfully sold him a franchise and withheld crucial financial and legal information.
Jean-Baptiste purchased Rapid Realty and its Gowanus franchise in 2018 after Lolli and his associates lied about the company’s profitability, according to a complaint filed this week. He claims the leadership failed to inform him that its registration with the New York State Attorney General’s Office had expired in 2016, preventing it from legally selling franchises.
Rapid Realty executives subjected Jean-Baptiste to “severe coercion and duress,” he claimed, even denying his request to have his own attorney review the deal and lied about a competing offer to buy the company for $1.75 million.
Lolli also failed to disclose ongoing and potential lawsuits against Rapid Realty, including reports that nine franchise owners were preparing to sue the company. The lawsuit claims Lolli encouraged franchisees to take out high-interest loans with an out-of-state lender to build out their offices, but he instead pocketed the money.
In the lawsuit filed by Jean-Baptiste, he claims that he approached Lolli and other executives when he found out about the legal challenges through an article published in 2018 by The Real Deal, and they told him the allegations were “entirely false” and that the article was “frivolous.”
Lolli dismissed Jean-Baptiste’s concerns, saying “this is the big leagues, if you are worried about being sued, then welcome to the club,” according to the complaint.
The lender, Florida-based Sky Financial Group, filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against Rapid Realty in 2018, claiming the company misrepresented its business model and that executives used its loans to enrich themselves.
Jean-Baptiste declined to comment through his attorney. Lolli did not respond to a request for comment.
Rapid Realty was once one of Brooklyn’s fastest-growing residential brokerages. In 2014, the company had the biggest agent headcount in the borough with 439 agents.
However, a review of public records by TRD from the end of 2018 found the company’s footprint had dwindled to 99 brokers across 20 offices.
The firm appeared to be operating on a scaled-back platform after it quietly sold to Baptiste. It’s unclear to what extent it’s still operating, as its former website is no longer active and the phone number for its Gowanus headquarters is disconnected.
