A man paid just $200.57 for a night at a famous New York hotel, then lived there rent-free for years. He could now go to prison.

• Mickey Barreto booked a one-night stay at the New Yorker Hotel in 2018 for $200.57.

• He went without paying rent for five years thanks to a local housing law.

• Police arrested him in February. He now faces fraud charges and possible prison time.

A New Yorker successfully lived in the iconic New Yorker Hotel building for half a decade without paying a single cent in rent – ​​but the jig is up.

Police arrested Mickey Barreto in February and charged him with filing fraudulent property records after he tried to claim ownership of the hotel, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said Barreto circumvented thousands of dollars in rent by exploiting a little-known local housing law, among other alleged crimes, and tried to charge rent to another tenant in the building.

For the Manhattan district attorney, this last solution was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“As has been alleged, Mickey Barreto repeatedly and fraudulently claimed ownership of one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, the New Yorker Hotel,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. .

Barreto currently faces 24 charges, including 14 counts of fraud, for parts of his elaborate five-year plan. If convicted, he could face several years in prison, the New York Times reported.

Barreto’s residence at the famed hotel — which in its heyday hosted numerous dignitaries and celebrities, including Muhammad Ali and John F. Kennedy — dates back to 2018, when he first heard about the rent stabilization code of New York City. This law grants tenants residing in single rooms in buildings built before 1969 the right to request a six-month lease.

After staying in room 2565 for a single night at a total cost of $200.57, Barreto decided he was actually renting.

However, when Barreto requested a six-month lease on the hotel, he was quickly evicted.

Barretto — a Californian with a penchant for conspiracy theories who also claims to be the self-proclaimed leader of a tribal community he founded in Brazil, according to the New York Times — refused to take no for an answer.

Barreto was ultimately caught in a web of lies

In 2018, Barreto sued the Association of the Holy Spirit for the Unification of World Christianity, which purchased the New Yorker Hotel in 1976. Despite a judge’s initial refusal, the case went to court supreme of the state. Ultimately, Barreto won his appeal by default because the building’s owners failed to show up for trial.

Although the hotel was ordered to hand over a key to Barreto, the two parties never agreed on the terms of the lease. Since he couldn’t be evicted, he lived in a hotel rent-free.

It wasn’t until July 2023 that a judge ruled in favor of the hotel, citing Barreto’s inability to sign a lease or pay rent, according to the Times.

The prosecutor said that over the years, Barreto falsely represented himself as the hotel’s owner and attempted to profit from the building. That included registering the hotel under his name with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection as part of an effort to transfer the hotel’s bank accounts to him, the office said. prosecutor.

In 2019, the Unification Church also sued Barreto for presenting himself as the hotel’s owner on LinkedIn and uploading a false deed to a city website. The case is ongoing and, in the meantime, Barreto has been instructed to refrain from claiming ownership of the building.

Business Insider reached out to Barreto through his company, Mickey Barreto Missions, but did not hear back.

“I never intended to commit any fraud. I don’t believe I’ve ever committed fraud,” Barreto told The Associated Press. “And I never made a cent from it.”

Barreto – who claims to be a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus, according to the Times – is currently awaiting trial.

In a move as bizarre and surreal as his entire coup, before his release from police custody earlier this year, he claimed to have called the White House, leaving a message revealing his location.

According to the Times, there is no evidence to suggest a connection between Barreto and the White House.

When contacted by BI for comment, the NYPD directed questions to the district attorney’s office.

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