A 35-year-old New York woman has been arrested for forging a deed to take possession of an elderly woman’s home — but she insists she got the house as a thank you for taking care of her.
Aurelia Suggia, 35, appeared in court in Nassau County, on Long Island, on Friday and pleaded not guilty to fraud and theft.
She is accused of paying $10 to have her mother’s neighbor’s house deed of $350,000 transferred to her name.
The owner, 78-year-old Rosemary Mika, claims she was informed of the bond transfer in a letter from Nassau County authorities.
Then Mika called the police.
Rosemary Mika, 78 (left), accused Aurelia Soggia, 35, of forging documents to rob her home
The home in Lakeview, Long Island, has a value of $350,000
The deed was transferred to Soogea on October 11, and Mika claims she found out thanks to a letter she reported to her. Soogea says she and Mika went into the offices together to fill out paperwork
said Soogea’s attorney, Lawrence Kara NBC New York which Mika gave to the Soogea house as a gift.
“We are strongly against it, we have filed an innocence case,” he said.
“She rendered services and stayed there from time to time as a loving and caring assistant.”
Cara said there was “conflicting evidence” that would show that “Soogea did not fake the act”.
Soogea said she recorded conversations between her and Mika confirming the house move.
She also presents posters from their visit to the county building on the day the contract was signed, arguing that Mika was there and handed it over willingly.
Mika’s attorney said Soogea’s documents and audio records were fabricated.
Soogea is scheduled to appear in court next Thursday.
Accusations of job fraud are common throughout the United States.
In May 2022, a Georgia man was charged with theft of six properties across the state of North Carolina.
Isaiah Robert Louise Baskins Jr. has been charged with murder. , of Macon, Ga., committed fraud operations between December 2018 and September 2019, using the names and addresses of six people and another person’s Social Security card to fraudulently commit fraud.
Sogya was seen with her lawyer, Lawrence Kara. He says Soogea got the house thanks to being Mika’s caregiver
He was alleged to have submitted the forged documents to the deed register transferring their real estate property to him.
The case continues.
In December, California-based Shanica Seymour was arrested after she allegedly forged fake deeds to sell property around Memphis that she didn’t own.
That same month, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an indictment of five alleged members of a bond theft ring for robbing three homes of elderly homeowners in Jamaica and St. Albans, Queens.
According to the indictment, the defendants impersonated the homeowners by using fake driver’s licenses and social security cards and sealed the properties with fake signatures on deeds and documents.
“No one should have to face the nightmare of having their home stolen from them without any warning, knowledge or reason,” James said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the charges.
“Business theft is a ruthless crime that targets seniors, often people of color, who are asset-rich but money-poor, and rely on their homes as a stabilizing force for their families and loved ones.”
