Alleged squatters serve up $25 Shake Shack receipt to claim $930K NYC home is legally theirs

Chris Nesi, Ben Kochman
·3 min read
Rondie L. Francis and Lance Hunt sued Denis Kurlyand and Juliya Fulmanof, the owners of the duplex on Lakewood Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, on March 14 after they were kicked out of the property.
Rondie L. Francis and Lance Hunt sued Denis Kurlyand and Juliya Fulmanof, the owners of the duplex on Lakewood Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, on March 14 after they were kicked out of the property.

They’ll take two burgers and the house to go.

Two alleged squatters served up a $25 Shake Shack receipt among several pieces of evidence they claim shows they have legal rights to live in a $930,000 New York home.

Rondie L. Francis and Lance Hunt sued Denis Kurlyand and Juliya Fulman, the owners of the duplex on Lakewood Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, on March 14 after they were kicked out of the property.

A Shake Shack delivery receipt was presented in court by a lawyer representing the two men suing a Queens couple claiming they were “unlawfully locked out” of the residence.
A Shake Shack delivery receipt was presented in court by a lawyer representing the two men suing a Queens couple claiming they were “unlawfully locked out” of the residence.
Francis and Hunt claim they have a lease and have paid rent on the house and have been illegally locked out.
Francis and Hunt claim they have a lease and have paid rent on the house and have been illegally locked out.

Francis and Hunt claim they have a lease, paid rent and have been illegally locked out.

They filed several pieces of evidence in Queens County Court, including an application approval letter, a rental lease and mail that was addressed to them at the home.

They also produced a screenshot of an Uber Eats receipt from the Jamaica Avenue Shake Shack for $25.27, purportedly showing they had food delivered to the address in January.

Denis Kurlyand and Juliya Fulman, the owners of the duplex on Lakewood Avenue in Jamaica, Queens are being sued by squatters. @julie_julz4/Instagram
Denis Kurlyand and Juliya Fulman, the owners of the duplex on Lakewood Avenue in Jamaica, Queens are being sued by squatters. @julie_julz4/Instagram

All of it is an effort to establish their move-in date.

Under New York City law, squatters only have to occupy a property for 30 days before they’re eligible for legal protections that make it difficult for the owner to evict them.

The pair wants a court to force the owners to give them a key to the front door, or grant them permission to change the locks.

The suit lists the starting date of the lease as Jan. 1, 2024, claiming the men received an application approval letter and a lease from Top Nest Properties, the real estate company that handles the home.

Court documents revealed the inside of the home.
Court documents revealed the inside of the home.
The squatters want a court to force the owners to give them a key to the front door, or grant them permission to change the locks.
The squatters want a court to force the owners to give them a key to the front door, or grant them permission to change the locks.
The Lakewood Avenue duplex is at the center of an unusual lawsuit where two alleged squatters are suing the homeowners after they were escorted off the property last month. Gregory P. Mango
The Lakewood Avenue duplex is at the center of an unusual lawsuit where two alleged squatters are suing the homeowners after they were escorted off the property last month. Gregory P. Mango

According to the document, Francis and Hunt paid $4,000 to cover the security deposit and first month’s rent under the terms of the lease agreement signed on Jan. 1, additionally stating rent was “dutifully” paid on Feb. 1 and March 1 to cover rent for those months.

Kurlyand and Fulman, who records show own the home via Lakewood Queens Property LLC, told The Post Sunday that the documents presented in court were fraudulent.

“Everything they’re presenting is fraudulent,” Kurlyand said, with Fulman further claiming that the documents are “clearly photoshopped.”

Reached by phone Monday, the couple’s attorney Rispah Morrow declined to comment because the matter was still ongoing.

The attorney for Francis and Hunt did not respond to an email or phone call seeking comment about the legitimacy of his clients’ documents.