Former Richmond Hill realtor sentenced for $600K scam
Judge gives woman 2 to 6 years sentence in prison for stealing cash from potential buyers
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
A Richmond Hill woman
was sentenced to jail time for
stealing nearly $600,000 in
payments from prospective
buyers in a short sale scam in
Queens and Brooklyn, prosecutors
announced Friday.
Reshmi Maharaj, 53, was
convicted of second-degree
grand larceny, first-degree
scheme to defraud and second
and third-degree grand
larceny on Aug. 12. She was
sentenced to serve 2 to 6 years
in prison on Aug. 29.
“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,”
said acting District Attorney
John M. Ryan. “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.”
According to trial testimony,
Maharaj began to collect
deposits from a prospective
buyer, totaling $55,500,
for the purchase of a home on
Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond
Hill in December 2014.
In April 2015, another buyer
gave Maharaj four checks totally
$34,500 for a home she
presented as a “short sale”
on Sutter Avenue in South
Ozone Park. The second buyer
paid Maharaj an additional
lump sum of $130,000 in order
to secure the purchase of
the property.
Maharaj would repeat
this scam several more times
collecting deposits, totaling
$176,200, and closing costs for
a home on 122nd Street in Jamaica
and for and “short-sale”
home purchases on Murdock
Avenue in Queens Village and
on Avenue K in Brooklyn. In
2016, Maharaj again received
Hammer of judge with dollars and model of house on gray background Photo via Getty Images
a total of $199,000 from a
third prospective buyer who
was interested in buying a
property on 115th Street in
Richmond Hill.
Despite praying the large
sums of money to Maharaj,
the buyers were never allowed
to move into the homes.
Testimony states that Maharaj
used the money, totaling
$594,700, on 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.
Reach reporter Emily
Davenport by email at
edavenport@qns.com or
by phone at (718) 260-2576.
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