Trial of Real Estate Fraud Defendant Begins
A real estate fraud defendant faced trial on Monday for allegedly swindling two brownstones in Manhattan from their rightful owners. One of these victims is an 83-year-old woman who has been collecting cans and recently entered an evacuation center.
Joseph Makani is facing charges of theft and fraud for supposedly deceiving the owners out of two valuable Harlem properties worth nearly $5 million between 2012 and 2023, according to officials from the state Attorney General’s Office.
Among the individuals expected to testify against Makani is Veronica Palmer, a long-time property owner in Harlem. She was evicted from a building she purchased in 1985 due to serious fraud allegations.
“He didn’t need a crowbar,” prosecutor Najee Modiri stated during the opening remarks at Manhattan Supreme Court, referring to Makani. “His tools were forged signatures, fraudulent claims, and fake documents.”
Modiri explained that, “We could have sold the house for a significant amount of money,” but Palmer, who has deep roots in Harlem, preferred to keep her home instead.
As for Makani, who is 63, he reportedly took interest in the deteriorating building located at 107 W. 118th St. He forged documents to occupy it and subsequently used the property to secure a $1.2 million loan that he wasn’t entitled to, according to prosecutors.
Palmer, a former correctional officer, struggled with maintaining her property and ultimately found herself in a homeless shelter in Brownsville. Unfortunately, she was still searching for a stable home when Makani was indicted in 2023.
Prosecutors confirmed that the elderly victim has since been located and will testify against her alleged scammer.
The case against Makani began when State Attorney General Letitia James first pursued him over a construction contract in 2021. However, he won on a technicality only to be indicted again two years later.
According to prosecutors, Makani obtained a second brownstone located at 135 W. 131st St. by persuading a tenant named Tyrone Booger to falsely claim ownership and sign the property over to him, despite the actual owner’s death years earlier.
Mr. Booger is also anticipated to testify against Makani during this trial.
Jurors were informed that Makani developed a calculated scheme over several years to take ownership of two Manhattan homes that did not belong to him. “These brownstones were ideal targets, homes belonging to the dilapidated and vulnerable,” Modiri noted.
He highlighted how vulnerable groups, including the elderly, were often affected by such crimes.
Defending Makani, attorney Susan Necheres argued that her client wasn’t a fraudster but rather a family man trying to make a living. She claimed he actually helped rescue Palmer’s brownstone from disrepair, riddled with unpaid mortgages and taxes.
“He’s not a fraudster,” Necheres insisted. “He did not defraud anyone of property or money.”
