A former business partner of Ivanka Trump‘s who claims he introduced her to Jared Kushner is being evicted by Eliot Spitzer.
Moshe Lax, who rents 10,000 square feet of retail space in Spitzer’s building at 800 Fifth Ave., is said to be behind on the rent and besieged by creditors.
A source familiar with the situation told me, “He is being evicted.”
Lax told Mishpacha.com that he introduced Ivanka to her future husband at a dinner at Prime Grill where he was putting together a real estate deal: “I wasn’t playing shadchan [matchmaker] — it was a business opportunity.”
He partnered with Ivanka to launch Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry in 2007, but their collaboration ended when she discontinued the high-end line to go mass market earlier this year.
Renting the bilevel space with a garden at 800 Fifth, Lax launched CODE, “a meeting place for fashion, culture and innovation,” says its Web site.
Earlier this month, he opened Facet of Love, saying, “There will be champagne, there will be coffee. This will be a place that anyone in New York can come in and just enjoy.”
But the space has also been drawing creditors. “They show up at the building and line up outside, swapping info,” said one source.
One creditor told me, “He owes me money. I’m embarrassed to say how much.”
Lax’s lawyer Jason J. Rebhun said, “We have no comment at this time.”
