‘Bernie Madoff of landlords’ defaults on ‘The Nanny’ building: suit

The “Bernie Madoff of landlords’’ is in debt up to his fanny over a Manhattan building made famous by “The Nanny,” a new lawsuit claims.

Embattled real-estate titan Steven Croman — who earned his dubious nickname over previous fraud and other charges — has defaulted on millions of dollars in loans tied to the Upper East Side site, which was used in the 1990s hit sitcom featuring Fran Drescher, according to Manhattan court filings.

The building at 7 E. 75th St. is now facing foreclosure thanks to the $8.22 million in outstanding debt he owes on it — bringing his total default claims on all of his properties to nearly $200 million, the lawsuit said.

That whopping figure allegedly includes $22.15 million he owes across a total of five properties alone in Manhattan.

In all, his shocking real-estate debt totals more than $190 million, spanning 40 properties in all, according to court filings.

The five-story French Beaux Arts building at the center of the new lawsuit was built in 1901 and is just steps from Central Park. It was purchased by Croman in 2008 for $14.5 million, according to records. 

Its exterior was immortalized for TV viewers at the exterior of the mansion for the fictitious Sheffield family in “The Nanny,” which stars Drescher as the family’s young outer-borough caregiver from Queens.

Unlike in the show, the real-life real-estate is split into apartments, where an available cozy 850-square-foot three-bedroom unit is currently going for $11,800 a month.

Croman, a convicted fraudster who did a stint on Rikers Island more than a decade ago, took out a $9.8 million loan against the property in 2014, court filings show. 

The suit alleged that starting in August, Croman stopped making his monthly payments of nearly $80,000 on the property.

For the other buildings listed on the suit — filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by the current holder of the loans, Orange Owner LLC — he followed a very similar pattern of suddenly ceasing monthly payments in August.

At 309 W. 97th St., Croman was in default for $188,156 after skipping his $36,000 monthly installments, the suit claimed, and now must pay up his remaining $3.55 million loan.

For 228-230 E. 32nd St., he faced a monthly bill of over $41,000, falling behind by almost $200,000 — including fees — in November. The suit said Croman still owes $3.92 million total.

For two properties in the East Village — 44 E. 1st St. and 158 Ave. C — Croman owes a total of $6.46 million in outstanding loans. 

Named “the Bernie Madoff of landlords” by then-state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Croman, in addition to fraud claims, was also accused of using a former NYPD officer to harass tenants into leaving their units — allowing him to jack up the rent on unwitting New Yorkers.

The late Madoff is infamous for pulling off history’s largest Ponzi scheme.

Croman pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud in 2017 and spent a year behind bars on Rikers Island.