The Trustee Who Used the Trust Against the Beneficiary

Abraham S. Horn, M.D. ("Abe") is a retired gastroenterologist and former president of a multi-physician medical practice. He is the beneficiary Justin Horn's father. He is the sole acting trustee of the Jennifer Horn Family Trust of 1993 — a position that carries the full weight of fiduciary law.

His role creates a triple conflict: (1) Settlor — co-created the trust in 1993 with wife Pauline Horn, and has exercised amendment authority unilaterally; (2) Sole Acting Trustee — all disbursements, all vendor designations, all distributions flow through him exclusively; (3) Lease Guarantor — personal guarantor on the lease for Unit 806, 315 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (Goldtex Apartments).

Executed November 24, 1993, Camden County, New Jersey. Governing law: New Jersey Uniform Trust Code. Originally a supplemental needs trust for Jennifer Sherri Horn, a severely disabled daughter — designed to protect Jennifer while preserving Medicaid and SSI eligibility. Jennifer is now deceased. The trust holds remainder interests for Justin Horn and Alyssa R. Zentner (née Horn).

Current corpus: $350,000–$390,000 (per the trustee's own written description, May 21, 2025).

Rental License #602204 for Post Goldtex LP (315 N. 12th Street, Philadelphia) expired on February 28, 2026, and was not renewed. Under Frempong v. Richardson, 209 A.3d 1001 (Pa. Super. 2019), and Philadelphia Code §9-3902(1)(a), a landlord operating without a valid rental license is absolutely barred from collecting rent. The bar is not discretionary.

Every rent payment from trust assets after February 28, 2026 was paid to a payee that could not legally collect it.

Three post-expiration rent payments are documented: approximately $2,000 on March 1; approximately $2,000 on April 1; approximately $2,000 on May 1. The May 1 payment — made the same day a $10,000 relocation distribution was refused — is the trigger overt act for the criminal charge.

Philadelphia City Council passed the Safe Healthy Homes Act (Bill 250329) on April 23, 2026 (16-1 vote), creating an express rent-refund remedy during unlicensed operation.

Before the trigger overt act on May 1, 2026, the trustee received three independent written notices that paying rent to an unlicensed landlord was unlawful.

This is not a paraphrase. This is the trustee's stated reason — on May 1, 2026 — for refusing to fund a $10,000 relocation distribution that would have removed the beneficiary from a building with 16 open L&I violations, 2 Unfit Structure designations, documented toxic chemical exposure, and an active antisemitic assault case. Same day, the trustee paid May rent to keep the beneficiary's lease current. The credit line is not a claim that Horn was funding harassment. It is the admission that his own financial interest — his guarantor credit exposure — was the reason he chose not to fund the exit. Under N.J.S.A. 3B:31-55 (Duty of Loyalty), trust administration must be conducted solely in the beneficiary's interest. The protection of the trustee's personal credit rating is not the beneficiary's interest. It is the trustee's interest.

The claim here is not that the trustee funded harassment directly. Greystar and Post Brothers acted on their own. The claim is that the trust became the mechanism of entrapment: it paid rent that kept the beneficiary financially locked into a building he was trying to leave, while the trustee simultaneously refused the disbursement that would have let him leave.

Trust assets paid rent to a landlord with 16 open L&I violations, 2 Unfit Structure designations, and 6 fire-safety violations — over the beneficiary's written objection, after three independent written notices that the payment was unlawful. Dr. Mark Fabi, M.D. confirmed airborne contaminant concerns in Unit 806 in a letter dated April 10, 2026. On May 6, 2026 — 5 days after the trigger rent payment — Justin was transported by ambulance to the ER.

The disability clause runs through all of this. The 2022 trust amendment added provisions that vest significantly expanded discretionary control in the trustee if Justin is determined to be disabled. The trust is the financial infrastructure that determines whether Justin has resources to fight back — and the trustee controls whether that determination is made.

The lead charge under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-15 is supported by State v. Coven, 408 N.J. Super. 482 (App. Div. 2009) (each payment is a separate completed offense) and State v. Cetnar, 341 N.J. Super. 257 (App. Div. 2001) (aggregation to $75,000 threshold supports second-degree treatment). State v. Mahoney, 188 N.J. 359 (2006): a professional who disregards known standards acts knowingly.

Primary civil remedy: Emergency trustee removal under N.J.S.A. 3B:31-48(b)(4) — standard is "best serves the interests of the beneficiaries"; no breach proof required.

Between December 2024 and May 7, 2026, the trustee offered ten distinct, mutually contradictory positions on why he paid the rent. Under State v. Cofield, 127 N.J. 328 (1992), this pattern is admissible to prove knowledge, absence of mistake, and plan/preparation.