A 90-year-old New York man is on the verge of being evicted from his brownstone after falling victim to an alleged deed scam decades ago.
Ray Cortez, a Brooklyn resident who has owned his Park Slope home since 1969, could lose everything after being duped by the alleged scammer in 2006.
At the time, Ray had purchased the property for $200,000. It is now valued at $3 million.
The elderly man claims he was scammed by an alleged con artist known as Wilson Calle who managed to transfer the deed of the house into his own name under the pretext of helping him.
Shortly afterward, the alleged scammer was accused of taking out a $700,000 mortgage on the house, and the bank eventually foreclosed on it for $2 million, something Ray only discovered a decade later.
Ray Cortez, a Brooklyn resident who has owned his Park Slope home since 1969, could lose everything after being duped by the alleged scammer in 2006.
Now, Ray and his son Ray Jr. have been forced to go to housing court to avoid being evicted from their former family home.
“You know, it’s heartbreaking. It’s been too long for me to have to carry this around. It’s been devastating,” Ray Jr. said.
The eviction is on hold until September 9, when all parties will meet again to see where the appeals court motion stands.
Ray’s attorney, Bill Lienhard, also said these types of scams have become increasingly common. common‘If you go to certain neighborhoods, mostly communities of color in Brooklyn, from Prospect Heights down to East New York and then southeast Queens, everyone on every block knows someone who has been a victim of deed theft or real estate fraud.’
“You know, it’s heartbreaking. It’s been too long for me to have to carry this around. It’s been devastating,” Ray Jr. said.
The elderly man claims he was scammed by an alleged con artist known as Wilson Calle who managed to transfer the deed of the house into his own name under the pretext of helping him.
Ray and his son Ray Jr. were forced to go to housing court to avoid being evicted from their former family home.
TO request It was launched to help prevent eviction by a group called ‘Justice for 91 St Marks Place’.
The page reads: ‘Mr. Cortez has been a staple of the neighborhood since 1969, when he and his wife acquired their property through much hard work and sacrifice. They raised their children there. They made their home there.
The ‘Mr. Cortez’ dilemma is yet another example of how elderly, hard-working immigrant homeowners are being ripped off by professional criminal vultures in our communities.
‘Mr. Calle and his associates took advantage of Mr. Cortez and other victims by appealing to their religious nature and posing as religious leaders of fake ministries.’
Accusations of forgery of deeds are common throughout the United States.
Last year, a 35-year-old New York woman was arrested on charges of forging a deed to take ownership of an elderly woman’s home, but she insisted she was given the house as thanks for taking care of her.
Aurelia Soogea, 35, appeared in court in Nassau County, Long Island, and pleaded not guilty to forgery and theft.
He was accused of paying $10 to transfer the deed to his mother’s neighbor’s house, valued at $350,000, into his name.
The owner, Rosemarie Mika, 78, said she was informed of the deed transfer in a letter from Nassau County officials.
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