{"id":294210,"date":"2021-07-08T21:51:34","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T18:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/convicted-conman-swipes-2-harlem-brownstones-worth-over-4-million\/"},"modified":"2021-07-08T21:51:34","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T18:51:34","slug":"convicted-conman-swipes-2-harlem-brownstones-worth-over-4-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/convicted-conman-swipes-2-harlem-brownstones-worth-over-4-million\/","title":{"rendered":"#Convicted conman swipes 2 Harlem brownstones worth over $4 million"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Convicted conman swipes 2 Harlem brownstones worth over $4 million<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

A convicted conman has been charged with using forged documents to steal two Harlem brownstones worth more than $4 million, prosecutors announced Thursday.<\/p>\n

Joseph Makhani, 58, was arrested and hit with a seven-count indictment<\/a> Wednesday accusing him of stealing the properties in a \u201csystematic and ongoing\u201d scheme starting in 2012, New York Attorney General<\/a> Letitia James said.<\/p>\n

He used a forged deed to steal 107 W. 118th St. \u2014 currently valued at $2.29 million \u2014 from its elderly disabled owner, according to the indictment.<\/p>\n

In the same year, he also tricked a tenant at 135 W. 131st St. into providing a signature which he used to create documents claiming he\u2019d been given that home, which is valued at $1.9 million, James\u2019 office said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Makhani, of Kings Point, Long Island, then falsely claimed in official documents to have paid just $10 for each home, despite them being worth a combined $4.19 million, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

However, he later claimed to have paid $975,000 for the 118th Street brownstone to get a $650,000 construction line of credit, as well as a $1.2 million mortgage loan, James\u2019 office said.<\/p>\n

He still claims possession of the property, which he turned into an apartment building in 2016 to pocket more than $12,000 in rent each month, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

\"(House
Makhani claimed to pay near $1 million for the 118th Street property. <\/figcaption>
Google Maps<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 131st Street townhouse was allegedly falsely claimed by Makhani\u2019s One 35 West Corporation using a slew of bogus documents, including forged signatures and Social<\/a> Security numbers, the indictment said.<\/p>\n

But it was left to fall into disrepair, with Makhani and his One 35 West Corporation fined over $1 million for failing to install a roof and upgraded electrical system, as well as exterminating rodents and cockroaches.<\/p>\n

He abandoned the building when faced with a $1 million judgment from the city, and it was later transferred to a nonprofit, James\u2019 office said.<\/p>\n

Makhani \u2014 who has a record of cons going back more than 20 years \u2014 was arrested Wednesday and hit with a slew of charges including criminal possession of stolen property, mortgage fraud and falsifying business records submitted to a New York bank.<\/p>\n

He pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court later that day and his case was adjourned until Oct. 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers should never have to fear that their homes will be targeted by predatory individuals,\u201d James said in a statement announcing the charges over the alleged \u201celaborate schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDeed theft continues to be a crime that permeates our neighborhoods, and preys upon our most vulnerable, leading to a cycle of displacement and grief,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

New York City Sheriff Joe Fucito said his force was \u201cstrongly committed\u201d to cracking down on such \u201creal property fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese crimes are financially devastating to the victims and their families, many of whom are elderly and have spent a lifetime working hard and saving to buy a home,\u201d the sheriff said.<\/p>\n

In 1998, Makhani was sentenced to two months\u2019 jail after he pleaded guilty in federal court to a scheme rigging bids for foreclosed properties in Queens and submitting a false tax return. He was also fined.<\/p>\n

In 2008, he was named in a criminal complaint accusing him of using forged signatures on deeds to unlawfully gain control of three properties in Queens from their legal owners, James\u2019 office said.<\/p>\n

Three companies allegedly owned by him pleaded guilty to felony first-degree falsifying business records, records show.<\/p>\n

A lawyer listed as representing Makhani did not immediately respond to messages.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Convicted conman swipes 2 Harlem brownstones worth over $4 million” A convicted conman has been charged with using forged documents to steal two Harlem brownstones worth more than $4 million, prosecutors announced Thursday. Joseph Makhani, 58, was arrested and hit with a seven-count indictment Wednesday accusing him of stealing the properties in a \u201csystematic and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":294211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/brownstone-theft.jg_.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[111394,72171,90474,71006,70948,72172],"class_list":["post-294210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-8-21","tag-attorney-general","tag-brownstones","tag-fraud","tag-harlem","tag-letitia-james"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}