FAMOUS Chef Madison Cowen has been ordered by a judge to pay over $100,000 in back rent at the conclusion of his years-long legal battle with his landlord.
The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal that the Food Network star appeared in a Brooklyn Housing Court on Wednesday for his last hearing regarding the case, where a judge ordered him to pay the hefty amount.
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Official court documents obtained by The U.S. Sun stated that Madison must fork over $105,000 after failing to vacate the home on February 14, 2023, as per a two-attorney stipulation dated December 7, 2022.
The order also noted that the celebrity chef was conditioned to “bring April and May 2024 use/occupancy of $2,750 per month to court,” but failed to do so.
Madison alleged to the court that he found a new residence and that his sublease begins June 1, 2024.
However, given his failure to follow through with the conditions set by the Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC) in bringing his monthly fee to the court, his motion was denied and all stays were vacated.
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Madison was “afforded 14 days to move with dignity,” according to the court documents.
The U.S. Sun reached out to Madison for a comment but has not heard back.
Madison’s legal troubles began four and a half years earlier when his landlord, Gus Sheha, claimed he avoided paying over $145,000 in rent for his Brooklyn apartment, the New York Post reported.
The TV personality has lived in the one-bedroom unit with his family since October 2019 but hasn’t given any money to his landlord since January 2020.
“I’ve never seen anything more absurd in my life,” Gus told the outlet about the matter.
“This is why people are getting out of New York. The system is completely broken and purposely set up to punish the landlord.
“I’m out over $140,000 in rent, but I still have to pay for insurance, taxes, water,” he added.
Madison reportedly used the pandemic-driven New York State eviction moratorium to his advantage from March 2020 to January 2022.
He then dodged judges’ orders of eviction on numerous occasions by filing new appeals.
As per The New York Post, Gus and his brother John, who owns the building Madison was staying in, learned about his latest appeal on last week when they, along with the city Marshall Robert Renzulli, went to his apartment to evict him.
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Gus claimed that Madison sought advice to avoid eviction from state Attorney General Letitia James and that he apparently called her, but her office had no knowledge of the conversation, according to The New York Post.
Madison is a British-born chef who appeared on Food Network’s The Iron Chef and was the first grand champion on Chopped.
Additionally, the TV star has been featured in Tournament of Champions, Guy’s Grocery Games, Guilty Pleasures, and Iron Chef Eats
He also co-stars on the BBC America’s travel series No Kitchen Required and has done cooking segments on the Today show and CBS This Morning.
His website also lists many high-profile celebrities he’s worked with, including Halle Berry, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Anderson, and Donna Karan.
According to Instagram, Madison is a “girl dad” and husband but appears to keep his personal life off social media.
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