Meet the REAL
Joey Cohen-Saban

2019 Federal Lawsuit: Rabin v. Saban and Associates LLC & Haim Cohen Saban

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York • Case No. 1:19-cv-03606 • Filed June 19, 2019

A consumer named Viktoriya Rabin filed a verified federal complaint accusing Haim Cohen Saban and his company of serious violations. According to the lawsuit:

• Illegal advance fees under the Credit Repair Organizations Act — The company quoted $25,300 for credit repair, took $1,000 up front before any work was done, and ultimately collected more than $14,000. Federal law flatly prohibits charging for credit-repair services before the work is fully performed.
• Fake and missing disclosures — Required federal consumer rights notices were either altered or never provided. The retainer agreement itself failed basic legal requirements.
• A web of fictitious business names — Client documents carried multiple different company names that did not exist or were not properly registered in New York.
• Unauthorized practice of law — Neither defendant was a licensed New York attorney. Yet they allegedly prepared foreclosure pleadings, powers of attorney, and affidavits; directed the client’s foreclosure case; hired per-diem lawyers; and negotiated with the bank while holding themselves out as providing legal services — a potential violation of Judiciary Law § 478.
• False promises — The client was allegedly told her mortgage would be removed from her credit report and her home saved from foreclosure. Accurate negative information cannot lawfully be erased by a credit-repair company.

Case outcome: Dismissed by stipulation with prejudice on May 27, 2020. No judicial finding of liability was entered.

The Earlier Case: Livia v. Saban and Associates (2015)

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York • Case No. 2:15-cv-03516

This was not the first time. A nearly identical federal lawsuit was filed against Haim Cohen Saban and multiple Saban-named entities in 2015. It, too, was dismissed by stipulation with prejudice in 2016.

2026: A Dead Man on the Petitions

In 2026, Cohen-Saban was publicly accused of circulating petitions that still carried the name of a deceased candidate — Robert Gevertzman, who had died in March 2025. Signature gatherers were also filmed claiming that Cohen-Saban and State Sen. Sam Sutton were “independents” while collecting for a Fight Antisemitism Party line.

Cohen-Saban called the dead candidate’s appearance a “clerical error.”

“Running dead people shocks the conscience, and so does lying to and misleading the voters about which party you represent.” — Assemblyman Michael Novakhov

2024: The “Pro-Israel Party” Trick

Cohen-Saban tried to create an extra ballot line called the “Pro-Israel Party” in addition to the Democratic line. His Jewish opponent called it exactly what it looked like: “just a trick” and “using the situation in Israel to get more votes.” The line was struck after a lawsuit.

2025: Forcing Parents to Prove They Vote

Cohen-Saban helped promote a Brooklyn Orthodox Jewish school policy that required parents to show proof of voter registration before the school year — explicitly framed as a way to oppose Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.

2024: Suing the Board of Elections

Cohen-Saban filed a special proceeding to knock out objections filed against his own designating petition. The objectors claimed his petition was “permeated with fraud.” He stayed on the ballot.

2024: Suing His Opponent

At the same time, he sued Republican incumbent Michael Novakhov, claiming Novakhov’s petition was also “permeated with fraud.” Both men appeared on the November ballot. Novakhov won by 232 votes.

2026: National Grid Replevin Suit

In June 2026, Brooklyn Union Gas Company (National Grid) filed a replevin action against Joey Cohen-Saban in Kings County Civil Court seeking to recover property. The case remained open as of the research cut-off.