A
woman-owned business, JRT Realty, has filed a lawsuit against Cushman & Wakefield, alleging that the company and one of its executives, Diana Boutross, engaged in a smear campaign to destroy JRT's reputation and maximize their own commissions. The suit claims that Boutross was installed as the head of Cushman & Wakefield's business dealings with the city government at the behest of Jesse Hamilton, a top Adams administration official.

    According to the lawsuit, Hamilton pressured the city government's main real estate broker to install Boutross in the role after Cushman & Wakefield's previous manager announced his retirement. Once in charge, Boutross allegedly worked to sideline JRT and collect its commissions. The suit claims that Boutross wrote an email to city officials falsely stating that JRT would no longer be involved in brokering leases due to "performance issues."

    The lawsuit also alleges that Cushman & Wakefield and Boutross undertook a campaign to eliminate JRT from doing business with the city government, including by eliminating a provision requiring deals to be brokered by women-owned enterprises. The suit claims that this was done to allow Cushman & Wakefield to collect the 33.75% commissions that JRT gets on property deals.

    The lawsuit comes after investigators seized phones and other electronic devices from Hamilton, Boutross, and Ingrid Lewis-Martin, then Adams' chief adviser at City Hall, as part of a probe into possible corruption in the city's commercial property leasing sector. No charges have been filed, but Lewis-Martin was indicted on bribery charges unrelated to the commercial property dealings.

    Cushman & Wakefield has denied any wrongdoing, stating that any changes in its work with the city would have come from legitimate commercial reasons or amended rules around contracting with minority- and/or woman-owned businesses. The company has promised to review and respond to the lawsuit accordingly.