Two New Yorkers are facing prison after allegedly swiping a Kew Gardens Hills home from a dying widow — the first prosecution under the state’s new deed-theft law.
On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia announced the indictment of Deepa Roy, 68, of Manhattan, and Victor Quimis, 39, of Queens, for falsifying property records to take the longtime home of Renuka Bherwani, who was in hospice care. Quimis was arrested earlier this week; Roy remains at large, according to Crain’s.
Prosecutors say the pair forged Bherwani’s signature in October to transfer the home to themselves for nothing, then repeated the trick in December to move it into a Quimis-controlled shell company. That helped the pair allegedly set up a $552,500 mortgage, which they allegedly used to clear the property’s debts and pocket roughly $312,000.
Roy allegedly earned at least $15,000 for her part in the scheme.
Bherwani’s family discovered the theft only when city mail congratulating Quimis on his “new” ownership arrived at the house. The widow, who bought the home with her husband in 1986, had been battling dementia since 2020 and granted power of attorney to her son and daughter-in-law. Prosecutors allege Roy insinuated herself into the home after her husband’s death in 2022, posing as a friend and even asking to move in — a request the family denied.
James said deed theft has become rampant in gentrifying neighborhoods where homeowners are “cash-poor and equity-rich,” with scammers targeting seniors and those in financial distress. The attorney general’s office is also probing a Harlem case where a brownstone worth millions was allegedly stolen, leaving its owner homeless.
The 2023 law — drafted by James and Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie — extended the statute of limitations on cases and gave the AG authority to prosecute directly, rather than relying on local district attorneys. A companion measure passed also gave the attorney general and local prosecutors the power to halt court proceedings where the possession of a property is in dispute.
Both Roy and Quimis face charges including grand larceny and residential mortgage fraud, carrying potential sentences of eight to 25 years.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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