Miami Herald reporting triggers investigation into foreclosure auction attorney
The Florida Bar has opened an investigation into possible wrongdoing by a Florida attorney whose manipulation of the foreclosure auction process was exposed in the Miami Herald.
The Bar complaint originally came from a man who hoped to buy a two-bedroom, oceanview condo at the Emerald Tower in Pompano Beach. He was outbid by a woman he later came to believe was the auctioneer’s sister, bidding under a fake name. In his complaint, he accused auctioneer and attorney Brad Schandler of rigging foreclosure auctions and “illegally enriching himself from cheating the system and hurting many honest people that are actually looking for a home.”
The Bar had previously opted not to pursue the complaint, but reopened it following the Herald’s reporting on Schandler’s unconventional tactics.
The Herald’s revelations also prompted action from Broward’s chief judge, and a vow for legislation from a Miami state senator.
The Herald reported that Schandler has found a soft spot in foreclosure law and the court system that allows him to enter foreclosure cases relatively cheaply, take over, get a judge to change the auction terms to his benefit, and then stage auctions he has virtually no chance of losing. Time and again, he and his associates walk away the winners. In at least five cases examined by the Herald, he or his associates won auctions for $100.
According to the Herald’s analysis, Schandler finds condo foreclosure cases without a clear heir, or where heirs or owners are in another country. Typically the owner has died and the mortgage is paid off, but an assessment or fee is overdue.
“We commend the Herald for the recent article relating to improprieties in foreclosure proceedings,” Broward Chief Judge Jack Tuter said. “It has called attention to something that is far more prevalent than the public knows. We sent the article to all of our judges and asked our judges to be on a more heightened alert if they see suspicious activities going on in these foreclosure cases.”
Miami-Dade Chief Judge Nushin Sayfie said her powers were limited.
“We recognize the public’s interest in these matters, but a chief judge’s authority is administrative in nature, and in matters of law, we are not permitted to perform legal reviews of another judge’s rulings. That is the role of the appellate courts. ... Also, the judicial code of conduct prohibits judges from commenting on specific cases.”
Florida Sen. Ileana Garcia, a Republican from Miami, said the reporting “raised lots of eyebrows” and she will pursue legislation to curb “abuse and shameless behaviors.”
Schandler gets judges to agree that foreclosure auctions can be held in person and run by him, instead of the usual online auctions run by the clerk of courts office. Some attorneys have accused Schandler of failing to clearly signal to judges his intention to change the auction procedures.
Participation by outside bidders can be difficult. Some bidders had trouble participating due to vague instructions in legal advertisements. Some bidders have said that Schandler changed the location of the auction from the property itself to the lobby of the building with no prior warning, and bidders have to access buildings that might be closed to non-residents.
Schandler’s rules make it hard even if a bidder finds the auction. In a traditional proceeding, the property would go back to auction if the top bidder failed to pay the balance owed. Under Schandler’s rules, a property goes to his client in that scenario. That matters, because bidders have accused Schandler of employing sham bidders, including his sister, who were the top bidders at auctions, but failed to pay what was owed, delivering the property to Schandler’s client for minimal cost.
“The foreclosure auction processes should not be an invitation for abuse,” Sen. Garcia said. “There should be clear parameters to avoid conflicts of interest between auctioneers and bidders, full transparency of the payments process and proper public notification and access to scheduled auctions.”
Following the Herald’s reporting, Florida Bar spokeswoman Jennifer Krell Davis said that “an investigation has been opened” into Schandler.
That investigation stems, at least in part, from a complaint against Schandler submitted by Hernando Posse, a bidder at a 2021 Pompano Beach auction presided over by Schandler, according to Posse.
Krell Davis said she could not comment on whether the Bar has gotten other complaints about Schandler.
Posse’s complaint detailed his experience at the 2021 auction, which was held in the lobby of the condo building after Schandler convinced Broward Circuit Judge Nicholas Lopane to make it an in-person auction rather than the standard online auction. The Herald obtained a version of the complaint through a public records request after the Bar had initially declined to pursue it.
Posse was outbid at the auction by a woman who said her name was Kitty Lefkowitz. She pledged to pay $185,000 for the two-bedroom unit on State Road A1A, but failed to pay up the day after the auction. Under the auction rules put forward by Schandler and approved by Lopane, her default meant the property went to Schandler’s client for $100.
The Herald could find no record of a woman named Kitty Lefkowitz in Florida. Reporters showed Posse a picture of Schandler’s sister, Nadine August, and he recognized her as the woman who bid against him under the Lefkowitz name.
The Herald also found that August submitted the winning bid, giving her real name, at another of her brother’s auctions in February 2024.
Schandler and August didn’t answer the Herald’s questions about whether or not August was, indeed, Lefkowitz.
Schandler, a 68-year-old University of Miami law school graduate, lives in Hollywood.
Through his attorney, David Karp, Schandler declined to comment, but told the Herald in a prior interview that he didn’t invent this methods, just borrowed them from other lawyers.
