Special report: The troubled dealings at the root of Brandon Miller’s real estate company

A special report from The Real Deal — The developer’s life looked perfect, but his business never found its flow Oct 04, 2024 [View in Browser]( [Share](   [Image]( [image]( The troubled dealings at the root of Brandon Miller’s real estate company Michael and Brandon Miller needed cash to get their Tribeca condo project going. Their company, Real Estate Equities Corporation, signed a 150-year ground lease in 2010 at 137 Franklin Street and had plans to build a new, three-unit luxury condo building with a $23 million sellout price. Brandon was in charge of the project, and his father rewarded him with a 99 percent membership stake in the entity that owned it, REEC 137 Franklin Street LLC. Michael Miller turned to Long Island investor Donald Jaffe for a loan. In 2011, Jaffe provided a $2.5 million loan to REEC Franklin at a 12 percent interest rate that would come due in 2013. More than a decade later, Jaffe is still trying to recover his money from the loan — and $3.6 million in additional loans he provided to the father and son between 2011 and 2014. Both Michael and Brandon Miller are dead, and Brandon’s widow is on the hook for $3.6 million of the remaining debt. Brandon also left behind a tangled web of lawsuits, unfinished real estate projects and $34 million in personal debt when he died by suicide on July 3. [Read Full Story]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( [Share]( | [Manage Newsletters]( | [Unsubscribe](list=National Weekly) | [Privacy Policy]( | [Subscribe]( | [Advertise]( The Real Deal 450 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001 ©2024 TheRealDeal. All rights reserved. [View Online](