Nigerian businessman Olufemi Falade has been identified as the owner of the Brooklyn building in New York City that collapsed and killed eight people.

The building, located at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York, collapsed on Wednesday, November 11, 2026.

Following the collapse, records revealed that Mr Falade has accumulated approximately $452,056 in outstanding debts, comprising various fines, unpaid utility bills and taxes.

He owes $170,000 in fines to the Department of Buildings, $114,945 in unpaid water bills and $113,526 in property taxes dating back to 2021.

Mr Falade also owes $49,269 in unpaid personal federal income taxes to the United States Internal Revenue Service and $4,316 in New York State personal income taxes.

The New York Post reports that Mr Falade had appeared on the Worst Landlords Watchlist six times.

Department of Housing Preservation and Development records reveal that the building had 98 outstanding housing violations, including a leaky roof, defective doors, bedbug infestations and exposed wiring.

Apart from his appearances on the Worst Landlords Watchlist, Mr Falade was sentenced to 12 days in jail in 2006 and fined another $50,000 for failing to fix more than 1,800 violations at 12 Brooklyn buildings he owned at the time.

According to city property records, Mr Falade purchased the 96-year-old building in 1999 through Femi Realty Corp. Twenty-five years later, he transferred ownership to another company he controlled, Isolag Realty Corp., without any money changing hands. He signed the deed as both the seller and the buyer.