Queens Family Devastated by Real Estate Scam
A Queens family expressed their heartbreak after a real estate agent was found guilty of participating in a fraudulent scheme that resulted in the loss of their family home. During the sentencing on Wednesday, emotions ran high as the family reacted to the news of the convicted fraudster not facing prison time.
Gloria Kubik, 79, recounted how precious belongings, including a “Welcome Home Johnny” sign left by her late father after World War II, vanished after Autumn Valeri, 41, manipulated documents to deceive Kubik and her daughter, Maria Bendek, into relinquishing their home on 61st Road in Kew Gardens Hills. They had owned the property since 1999.
“Everything just went in the trash,” Kubik recalled, reflecting on the years spent in a home his parents had purchased way back in 1940.
“It feels like their lives had no meaning,” she added, highlighting the emotional toll of the situation.
Bendek, 53, described the ordeal as akin to losing her grandparents all over again. “All of our memories were stolen from living in that house,” she lamented, recalling the shared experiences from their family home.
Valeri, dressed in a fitted dark suit, received a sentence of five years’ probation and faced the revocation of her real estate license after admitting to scamming homeowners and stealing three houses across Queens between March and July 2023, according to the Queens prosecutors.
The leniency of the sentence left Kubik questioning whether justice was served. “I don’t understand why she was sentenced this way when she destroyed people’s lives,” she expressed to the judge.
Valeri, along with Carl Abinger, Torey Geis, and Lawrence Ray, forged signatures and submitted fake deeds to the City Registrar’s Office to take control of properties worth over $3 million.
Prosecutors detailed how Abinger and Valeri falsified documents, including a marriage certificate and a driver’s license, enabling them to sell the mother-daughter’s home for $600,000 in May 2023. They funneled about $442,000 into Ray’s account, which is currently part of an ongoing civil lawsuit.
In total, the group allegedly stole homes valued at more than $3 million. “The victims here were stripped of their homes, and it was more than just four walls and a roof,” said Queens Assistant District Attorney Rachel Stein during the proceedings.
Valeri’s sentence did not include jail time but involved a court order from Queens Supreme Court Judge Lee Chen voiding the fraudulent real estate transactions.
Authorities indicated that Abinger and Valeri had also submitted falsified documents to the city’s Department of Finance, falsely claiming a 76-year-old woman had transferred her home’s deed to a company owned by Ray.
Additionally, they allegedly forged the signature of the victim’s deceased sister, who had once co-owned the property.
Valeri apologized to her family in court, having pleaded guilty on October 8 to three counts of second-degree grand larceny.
Abinger, who has already been sentenced to three and a half to seven years for identity theft, was scheduled for another sentencing on grand theft, which has been postponed to November 13. He potentially faces up to nine years in prison.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz mentioned plans to utilize local laws to reverse the deeds of the other two properties involved and return them to their rightful owners. “Accountability isn’t uniform for every defendant,” Katz noted, emphasizing the importance of addressing the victims’ needs.
