A realtor featured on Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing New York" is being investigated by the Department of State. Luis Ortiz reportedly photo-shopped a listing with the help of his twin brother, David, to make the home more appealing.
"If I put real photos out there, nobody would come inside,"he said. "A little white lie isn't going to kill anybody."
The act was recorded and aired by Bravo earlier this year.
The Department of State has not released a statement regarding the investigation. It is unknown what consequences Ortiz faces for false advertising the listing.
According to the New York Post, the $7.5 million Greenwich Village town house did not have the desirable finishes to make it's price tag. Ortiz, 26, photo-shopped "hardwood floors and new marble counter-tops," and stainless-steel appliances into the photo.
The real estate agent claims he did not actually use the photos for the listening but "he sent the fake photos in an email blast to top brokers," the Post reported.
"I have to admit, this was not the best of my moments. I always try my best to stay true to who I am and to what I represent and in this instance, I fell short of my own believer (as we all do at times)," said Ortiz in a May 22 blog posting. "By doing what I did I learned what not to do in the future and that lesson is worth having done what I did. Sometimes we're told what not to do, but it is only after we go through it ourselves that we then understand why it shouldn't have been done. That's when a real lesson is learned."
"Million Dollar Listing New York" is a show that follows prestigious realtors of New York and gives a behind the scene look into high-end real estate and the cut-throat tactics used by realtors to outsell their competitors.
