A Great Neck bank was used as part of a scheme in which a Queens Village man stole more than $200,000 using false and forged documents to sell a Brooklyn home, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced Thursday.
Christopher Cable, 39, was charged and arraigned on one count of second-degree grand larceny and three counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.
“Real estate scams are always evolving and perpetrators are using new and inventive ways to defraud homeowners in Nassau County and around the state,” Singas said. “I encourage anyone who thinks they have been a victim of a real estate crime to contact my office through our 24-hour tip line.”
Cable faces between five and 15 years in prison if convicted.
His bail was set at $100,000 bond or 75,000 cash and he is due back in court on Feb. 1.
Cable allegedly claimed to be president of a corporation called New York RE LLC and submitted false documentation stating he had corporate authority to sell a property at 739 Hemlock Ave. in Brooklyn.
The false documents included an undated Operating Agreement and a notarized resolution to purchase, sell or mortgage the property, the DA’s office said, which both had the forged signature of a New York RE LLC managing partner.
The sales price of the property was $225,000 and Cable allegedly received $213,394.86 in proceeds, the DA’s office said.
On April 2, 2014, the DA’s office said, Cable deposited $178,394 of that money into a bank account at a Capital One Bank in Great Neck and withdrew the money almost immediately.
The DA’s office said he opened the bank account by producing a false document naming him director of the company, which also used the same New York RE LLC managing partner’s forged signature.
The real owner of the property sold it to another party on May 1, 2014, according to the DA’s office.
Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso of Singas’ Government and Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case.
