On Tuesday, prosecutors revealed that two luxury homes in Queens, valued at over $3 million and taken from elderly owners, have been returned to their rightful proprietors.
A group of four real estate agents, accused of engaging in fraudulent activities—including one known for wearing distinctive leopard print boots—manipulated records and forged signatures to unlawfully assume ownership of properties in Kew Gardens Hills and Queens Village, subsequently reselling them at inflated prices. These individuals have been convicted for their roles in this exploitative scheme.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz emphasized the importance of protecting homeowners, stating, “Property owners cannot stand by and watch their homes be taken by scammers.” She further noted that prosecuting individuals who steal homes is an essential aspect of their responsibilities, while expressing commitment to returning properties to their original owners.
Three of the accused—Autumn Valeri, Lawrence Ray, and Tory Geis—pleaded guilty last year to charges including grand larceny. They entered plea deals, avoiding prison time and instead receiving probation, with Ray also forfeiting approximately $404,000.
Gloria Kubik, one of the victims, expressed her discontent that three of the fraudsters escaped prison sentences. She shared her distress over valuable family possessions being discarded after losing their home, indicating that some items, like a heartfelt “Welcome Home Johnny” sign from her late father after World War II, had been thrown away. “It feels like their lives had no meaning,” she lamented.
The fourth participant in this scheme, referred to only as John Doe due to the use of multiple aliases, faced a sentence of 4½ to 9 years in prison. Earlier court records identified him as Carl Abinger.
Prosecutors described Valeri, 42, as a flashy con artist who, along with her partners, forged crucial documents and signatures to pilfer two homes, one owned by a 76-year-old woman and the other by a 79-year-old woman. All four defendants were arraigned on numerous counts in March and later pleaded guilty.
While these individuals took control of a third property illegally, a judge was able to void the fraudulent transfer since it hadn’t yet changed ownership. For the other two properties, the DA’s Housing and Worker Protection Bureau, established in 2020, had to take legal measures to annul the deeds that had been improperly exchanged.
