Woman Lies About Dead Aunt for Rent-Stabilized Apartment

Board members at a Prospect Park co-op building recently sued a woman for allegedly pretending her dead aunt was still alive for over three years to continue paying her $287.55 a month rent and live in her rent-stabilized apartment. Records show that her aunt lived there since 1959 and last saw a rent increase in 1985. The aunt died in April 2007 at the age of 91.

The woman allegedly kept paying the rent and made excuses whenever the board asked to access the unit. She told the co-op board, “If visited, Ms. Vaughan would panic, think she was being robbed and suffer a heart attack,” the suit said. Now, Williams is refusing to let go of the apartment, even though her name is not on the lease, according to the suit, filed last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Not a subscriber? Click here for a free trial issue!