A Long Island man has been charged with grand larceny for allegedly fraudulently transferring the titles of a property in Brooklyn and a property in the Bronx and selling them for a total of approximately $925,000. It is alleged the defendant went to elaborate lengths to perpetrate the two separate frauds, including using a variety of fraudulent documents. The defendant also allegedly attempted to steal nearly $300,000 in COVID-19 tax relief payments.
“This defendant allegedly filled his pockets with the ill-gotten gains of two separate real estate transactions in which he stole – then sold – the titles to two New York City properties while also attempting to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 tax relief funds," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "We will now seek to hold the defendant accountable and will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute deed fraud.”
The defendant, Salome Vega, 46, of Hempstead, New York has been charged with two counts of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal impersonation, and second-degree attempted grand-larceny. The defendant has been ordered to return to court on December 6, 2023.
According to the investigation, on August 6, 2019, the defendant allegedly sold the title to 1279 East 222nd Street, a two-family house in the Bronx. At the closing, which was held at an office in Midwood, Brooklyn, the defendant had someone impersonate the property’s deceased owner when the defendant fraudulently sold the house to a buyer for $250,000.
Six days later, on August 12, 2019, the defendant opened a business checking account for an entity with the same name as the decedent. On the same day, he allegedly deposited a $242,828 check from the sale of 1279 East 222nd Street into the account. Over the next two months, the defendant allegedly emptied the account.
The title transfer was subsequently vacated by the Bronx County Public Administrator when it was discovered that the property owner of 1279 East 222nd Street died on April 26, 2019, approximately four months before the closing.
In February 2023, the defendant fraudulently sold 431-435 Autumn Avenue, which includes a two-family house attached to a vacant lot in East New York, Brooklyn, for $675,000. It is alleged the defendant did this by pretending to be the CEO of Merit Homes Inc., which owned the property. The defendant was not associated with Merit Homes Inc., nor was he authorized to sell the property. According to the investigation, the defendant, at the closing, requested that funds from the sale be made payable to him personally in amounts of $100,000, $200,000, $300,000, and $33,772. The defendant proceeded to cash the payments at various check cashing stores in Queens and Long Island.
It is also alleged that the defendant opened a fraudulent business account for a surveillance company on February 9, 2023. The following day, on February 10, 2023, the defendant, according to the investigation, caused a COVID-19 tax relief check from the IRS for $297,368.51 intended for the company to be deposited into this account at a TD Bank branch in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. An alert bank employee spotted the fraud and froze the account before any funds could be withdrawn.
