NEW YORK (TIP): A Queens resident has been convicted on charges of larceny and scheme to defraud. The 53-year-old has been sentenced up to six years in prison for stealing nearly USD 600,000 in payments from prospective home buyers.

Queens Acting District Attorney John M. Ryan announced Aug 30 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.

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 August12, 2019 of second-degree and larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud and second-and third-degree grand larceny. Justice Lewis sentenced Maharaj Aug 29 to 2 to 6 years in prison.

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 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 cold-hearted scam.”