Using a number of tricks, a man manages to live in a hotel for free for five years. But he becomes more and more greedy and demands more and more. And then he loses an important lawsuit against the hotel owner.
The whole action begins in June 2018, where Mickey Barreto paid $200.57 (approx. 187 euros) for one night in a hotel in New York. In order to live permanently and for free in the hotel, he creatively exploited the law that the city of New York had officially devised for low-income tenants.
How did the trick work? His stay was based on New York’s rent stabilization law, which allowed some guests at older New York hotels to apply for permanent leases. This legislation, originally intended to protect low-income tenants, gave Barreto the right to live in the hotel.
He sued the hotel and fought in court for his claim to the room and won in the absence of the hotel representatives. He argued before the court that because he was subject to New York’s rent stabilization law, he was entitled to stay indefinitely.
The court ruled that the hotel had to give him back the room and he also managed to stay there for free.
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The hotel room is no longer enough, he wants to claim the entire hotel for himself
What happened then? The man became greedy. Because after the judgment that awarded him the room, he decided to interpret the decree as a right of ownership of the entire building. Based on an ambiguous interpretation of the court ruling and the law, he went to the city tax office to register the entire hotel in his name. After seven attempts and taking advantage of bureaucratic mishaps, he managed to get his name listed as the home’s owner in city records. The English newspaper Los Angeles Times reports this.
Using the title deed, he then began to act as if he was the legal owner. He sent letters to the owner’s lawyers demanding up to $15 million in back payments and demanding access to the hotel’s financial records. It’s as if it’s all been his for a long time.
Court finds: Property claims are fraudulent
This is how it all ends: The owner of the hotel filed several lawsuits against the intruder. And the court ultimately ruled against Barreto, finding his ownership claims were fraudulent and ordering his immediate eviction (via businessinsider.com).
In 2023 and after several hearings, the man was finally arrested on 24 counts, including 14 counts of fraud, for his attempted illegal appropriation of the hotel. He was threatened with a trial that could land him in prison for a long time. After a psychiatric report, the judges have now determined that Barreto is unfit to stand trial due to his mental health and addiction problems. The New York Times recently reported on this (behind paywall).
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