NEW York City real estate tycoon Brandon Miller had almost $34 million in debt before he died by suicide.
Miller had only $8,000 in his bank account when he died in July, legal documents show.
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Miller is the late husband of popular influencer and blogger Candice Miller, who runs the popular lifestyle blog Mama and Tata.
The second-generation businessman died at the age of 43.
He was buried at New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon, The Real Deal reported in July.
In a further update, the same website reported on Wednesday that Brandon had almost $34 million in debt and only $8,000 in his bank account when he died.
It also said that some $11.5 million of that debt was tied to mortgages on his Hamptons estate, citing legal documents.
The Water Mill property is currently on the market for $15.5 million, it added.
Brandon reportedly had four outstanding loans on that property, including $800,000 from bridge lender Titan Capital, reported Real Deal.
His largest debt – it added – was an unsecured $11.3 million loan from Chicago-based BMO Bank.
The Real Deal’s story is based on a bond petition filed in surrogate’s court by his widow.
The couple wed in 2009 after being close friends for years.
They used to live across the street from each other and Brandon proposed just one year after they began dating.
“We actually lived across the street from each other in the Hamptons,” Candice told Over the Moon in 2018.
“However, we didn’t start really dating until our mid-20s when the timing was right.
“We always loved one another, but it was actually so nice that we waited all of those years because we had no secrets, we knew everything about each other.”
INHERITED
Brandon inherited the Real Estate Equity Corporation, or REEC, from his father Michael Miller, who began the company in 1978.
He joined the business in 2004, and ran it with his business partner, Mark Siegel.
The firm has been involved in major projects and is reported to have developed over 20 million square feet throughout the United States, according to the company’s website.
This included work on the construction of a life sciences building in East Harlem.
Brandon and Candice’s timeline
The Hamptons natives were married for over a decade.
- 2004: Brandon joined his father’s company, Real Estate Equity Corporation
- 2008: The couple began dating after growing up together in Southampton
- 2009: Candice and Brandon got married
- 2016: Candice starts Mama and Tata with her sister Jenna chronicling her life raising two daughters with Brandon and Jenna’s life as an expectant mother
- 2019: Brandon’s company was sued over a complaint that alleged Michael Miller, Brandon’s dad, asked his assistant to forge his son’s signature on law documents
- 2022: TD Bank sued Brandon over a series of alleged fraudulent transfers which the bank claimed prevented it from collecting $2.1 million
- 2024: Brandon died at Southampton hospital
The firm has previously faced legal issues.
For example, five years ago, a complaint was filed about Brandon’s late dad in relation to a condominium project. Court documents show that the lawsuit was settled.
MORTGAGE LOAN
In other court documents reviewed by The U.S. Sun, TD Bank sued Brandon, his mom, and his sister, over a series of alleged fraudulent transfers which the bank claimed prevented it from collecting $2.1 million.
The origins of the case date back to missed payments from Miller on a $17.5 million commercial mortgage loan which his late father had personally guaranteed up to $3.5 million, according to The Real Deal.
Real Estate Equity Corporation did not immediately respond to the U.S. Sun’s comment request.
RENTALS
Brandon was also sued over $100,000 in alleged unpaid luxury furniture rentals and another $50,000 in boat-related fees just months before his shocking death.
REEC struggled to keep at least one project in New York City afloat after the company bought property in Manhattan’s East Village in 2017.
It signed a 99-year lease acquiring the property on the corner of St. Mark’s Place and Third Avenue for $150 million, according to The Real Deal.
The firm reportedly received a $79 million loan from Hana Financial Group in 2019 – with $48 million of that being sold to Madison Realty Capital as a first mortgage, per The Real Deal.
However, by 2021, Madison Realty Capital moved to foreclose after it claimed REEC defaulted on its mortgage.
Property records filed on June 23, 2022, exclusively revealed by The U.S. Sun, showed that the company acquired a new loan from Parkview Financial for $70 million, to save the struggling office building project from foreclosure in the eleventh hour.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
