Man Sentenced over Real Estate Scam
In a shocking turn of events, a man from Long Island has been handed a prison sentence of three to nine years. Marcus Wilcher’s crime? Stealing houses from elderly residents in Queens by posing as their owners and forging critical documents.
Kingpin of a Criminal Ring
According to prosecutors, Wilcher was no petty crook. He was actually the mastermind behind an organized deed theft ring operating in Queens. His specialty? Conning helpless elderly homeowners in Jamaica and St. Albans out of their properties. With fraudulent activities like these, he raked in over a million bucks from house sales.
Letitia James, the state Attorney General, condemned these acts, saying, “New Yorkers should never have to fear losing their homes to deceitful schemes like deed theft. What Marcus Wilcher and his associates did was a predatory scheme that hurt vulnerable New Yorkers both financially and emotionally.”
The Scam Explained
The ring led by 48-year-old Wilcher sought after dilapidated properties in Queens, all owned by elderly or vulnerable individuals. They would then advertise these homes to investors at prices below the market rate, aiming for a swift sale.
After baiting an investor, Wilcher would secure personal information about the real owners. He used this information, which included the owners’ Social Security numbers and birth dates, to generate false identification documents. This included fake driver’s licenses, counterfeit Social Security cards and bogus bank cards.
Wilcher’s crew wasn’t just a bunch of common thugs, either. They also had a former mortgage broker in their ranks, making their scam more convincing. For deals requiring signatures, they even had impersonators attend the contract signings and closing events on behalf of the real owners.
The unfortunate real homeowners didn’t see a single penny from these sales.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz stressed that “scam artists who target homes with the idea of making an easy profit through deed fraud will not be allowed to get away with it.”
Money Laundering and Legal Proceedings
Prosecutors revealed that the group even made use of out-of-state banks to clean the stolen proceeds.
On June 21, Wilcher pleaded guilty to grand larceny. Among those also implicated in the crime were Anyekache Hercules, former mortgage broker Stacie Saunders, and co-conspirators Jerry Currin and Dean Lloyd.
Hercules, a repeat offender previously convicted of deed theft in Brooklyn, also pleaded guilty to grand larceny and faces sentencing in September. Currin and Lloyd followed suit, pleading guilty to offering a false instrument for filing. Saunders is currently waiting to stand trial.
In summary, this case brings to light a grim example of how con artists can manipulate the real estate system, leaving homeowners, especially the elderly and vulnerably, to suffer. As investigations and legal proceedings continue, there is hope that justice will be served to all involved.