Posted on: August 30, 2019 02:00 PM

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Queens realtor sentenced to prison for scamming prospective home buyers out of nearly 600 000

Queens Acting District Attorney John M. Ryan announced today that a former licensed real estate salesperson living in Richmond Hill, Queens, has been sentenced to up to 6 years in prison for stealing nearly $600,000 in payments from prospective homeowners for the purported ?short sale? of several Queens and Brooklyn properties in 2015.

Acting District Attorney Ryan said, ?The defendant in this case duped the victims into believing that they were making payments to either secure their dream home or purchase a property as an investment opportunity. Instead, the defendant selfishly pocketed their hard-earned money and spent the ill-gotten funds on personal items. The sentence meted out yesterday by the Court brings much-needed justice to these buyers who were robbed of their chance to fulfill their American Dream. The defendant will now spend a significant amount of time in prison for operating this coldhearted scam.?

The Queens District Attorney?s Office identified the defendant as Reshmi Maharaj, 53, whose last known address was in Richmond Hill, Queens. Following a four-week bench trial presided over by Queens Supreme Court Justice Daniel Lewis, Maharaj was convicted on August 12, 2019 of second-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and second- and thirddegree grand larceny. Justice Lewis sentenced Maharaj yesterday to 2 to 6 years in prison.

According to testimony elicited at trial, beginning in December 2014, Maharaj accepted a number of deposits, totaling $55,500, from a prospective buyer for the purchase of a home on Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Queens. In April 2015, a second prospective buyer gave Maharaj four checks, totaling $34,500, for a home she presented as a ?short sale? on Sutter Avenue in South Ozone Park, Queens. This same buyer then paid Maharaj an additional lump sum of $130,000 in order to secure the purchase of the property. Maharaj repeated this scam several more times, collecting deposits, totaling $176,200, for a home on 122 Street in Jamaica and for ?short-sale? home purchases on Murdock Avenue in Queens Village and on Avenue K in Brooklyn, as well as for closing costs. In 2016, Maharaj again pocketed a total of $199,000 from a third prospective buyer, who was interested in buying a property on 115 Street in Richmond Hill.

Despite having paid large sums of money to Maharaj, according to trial testimony, the victims were never allowed to move into the homes. Instead, Maharaj spent the $594,700 in funds she had received on such things as trips to a local casino and for travel-related vacation expenses (including airfare, hotels and entertainment), as well as making sizeable cash withdrawals while in Trinidad and Tobago and for other personal expenses.

The investigation was conducted byDetective Investigator Rachael J. Alvarez, of the Queens District Attorney Detective Bureau, which is under the supervision of Chief Investigator Franco Russo and DeputyChief Investigator Robert J.Burke, with assistance from Investigative Accountant Joseph D. Plonski, of the District Attorney?s Investigative Accounting and Economic Crimes Unit, which is under the supervision of James J. Dever, Director.

Acting District AttorneyRyan thanked Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell, of the New York State Department of Financial Services(DFS), Elizabeth Nochlin, Director of the Investigations and Intelligence Division(DFS), and Assistant DFS Superintendent Helen Hodge for their assistance in the investigation, as well as that of Investigator Jack Bilello and David Mossberg, Esq., of the New York State Department of State, Division of Licensing Services. He also acknowledged the assistance of Zena Spence, DeputyRegister with the New York City Department of Finance, Office of City Register.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Rebecca L. Height, of the District Attorney?s Economic and Environmental Crimes Bureau, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, Christina Hanophy and Kristen A. Kane, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Wilbert J. LeMelle. (From Queens DA's office)