Bondholders Allege American Dream Mall Colluded to Cut Value
Photographer: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images
A New Jersey town and owners of the American Dream mall colluded to reduce the assessed value of the shopping and entertainment complex in a move that now jeopardizes repayment of $800 million in municipal debt, bondholders alleged in a lawsuit.
The Borough of East Rutherford and American Dream owners, Ameream LLC, worked “in a concerted effort” to improperly reduce the payments, according to a suit filed Friday in Bergen County chancery court by U.S. Bancorp’s U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, the trustee for bondholders led by Nuveen LLC. The payments were tied to the assessed value of the 3.5 million-square-foot mall.