New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Spigro Management, LLC (Spigro) and its lead property manager for illegally evicting people from their homes by changing the locks on their apartment doors while they were not home. As a result of OAG’s intervention, Spigro will pay statutory and compensatory damages of between $1,000 and $1,200 to the four unlawfully evicted victims in addition to $23,500 in penalties. Spigro will also be obligated to create an “internal lockout” policy to ensure tenants’ locks are not changed without their knowledge, which will be monitored by the OAG for the next three years to ensure compliance.

“Spigro callously violated the trust, safety, and privacy of occupants by illegally changing their locks while they were not home. Attempting to evict people from their homes by sneaking in and changing the locks is as sinister as it is shameful. My office will always take action against any property manager or landlord that violates tenants’ rights.” – AG James