A Manhattan fitness model has sued her luxury apartment building for trying to evict her after a stalker mailed her explicit photos to hundreds of neighbors.
Samantha Skolkin, 36, a former professional bodybuilder with more than 500,000 Instagram followers, filed a $1 million lawsuit against CS Ritz Residences LLC and Stonehenge NYC in Manhattan Supreme Court. The defendants own and manage The Ritz Plaza, a high-end building in Midtown where one-bedroom units rent for over $5,400 monthly.
Skolkin claims the building locked her out of its online rent-payment portal and refused to renew her lease after her former photographer, Steward Noack, 54, allegedly sent intimate images from her OnlyFans account to approximately 400 fellow residents throughout 2024. She continued attempting to pay rent by mailing checks to building managers, according to the Aug. 1 complaint. The Ritz Plaza filed an eviction notice in July.
Her attorney, Fred Lichtmacher, wrote in the filing that the building “intentionally and unlawfully discriminated against [Skolkin] because of her protected status as a victim of stalking and sex offenses.” The lawsuit argues the eviction violates city and state laws shielding victims of sex crimes and stalking from retaliation.
“It was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” Skolkin told The Post. “It’s just a f–king nightmare. The amount of people who saw them — my parents — it was awful.”
Noack, who runs Queens-based photography studio House of Indulgence, was arrested and charged in January and May 2024 with unlawful publication of intimate images, criminal impersonation, aggravated harassment, dissemination of unlawful surveillance images and stalking. At his Dec. 31, 2024 arraignment, a judge issued an order of protection. In March 2025, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in a plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Investigators said Noack was caught on surveillance camera at least three times mailing packages from a Manhattan USPS office, wearing hoodies, masks and latex gloves on one occasion. He allegedly labeled envelopes and packages to appear as though they came from Skolkin, her relatives, building management and Amazon to trick recipients into opening them. The packages included Christmas cards filled with graphic shots and posters promoting her OnlyFans. Two silver gift boxes sent to her parents contained black ski masks covered in a white substance resembling semen.
A spokesperson for The Ritz Plaza said the suit lacks “any factual basis” and is “entirely without merit,” but declined additional comment. Skolkin declined to comment on the lawsuit itself.
In the viral moment that spawned the legal battle, Noack allegedly tormented Skolkin for a year after she rejected his romantic advances. The two had met more than a decade ago and worked together professionally; Skolkin described him as her “best friend” at one point, though she maintained the relationship was never romantic. About three years ago, she told him she had a boyfriend, and his behavior shifted dramatically.
“He started acting really jealous and f–king bizarre…. Then he goes, ‘I’m in love with you.’ And I was like, ‘What?'” Skolkin recalled.
The lawsuit also alleges Noack sexually assaulted her twice, “forcefully and inappropriately” touching her without consent. She did not report those incidents to police, initially forgiving him because he claimed he was drunk. She cut off all contact after the second incident, and the alleged harassment campaign began months later.
“This man should never be around women. He’s a predator. He’s a sick f–king person,” Skolkin asserted.
Noack and his lawyer did not return requests for comment.
The case highlights tensions between tenant protections and landlord discretion in New York’s high-stakes rental market, where eviction proceedings can move swiftly even as victims’ rights laws aim to shield those targeted by crimes.
The lawsuit remains active in Manhattan Supreme Court.