First Conviction Under New York's Criminal Deed Theft Law: Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Dying Woman's Queens Home
NEW YORK CITY — The New York State Attorney General's Office announced that Victor Quimis, 40, pleaded guilty on November 5 to stealing a home in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, from its owner while she was in hospice care, becoming the first person convicted under New York's criminal deed theft law. Attorney General Letitia James said the case shows the state will hold accountable anyone who tries to steal another person's home.
The victim, Renuka Bherwani, had owned and lived in the house since 1986, nearly 40 years. She was elderly and seriously ill, including with cancer, and had entered hospice care. According to the Attorney General's Office, Quimis conspired with Deepa Roy, 69, of Manhattan, to sign Bherwani's name on forged deeds: first transferring the home to Roy in October 2024, then to Quimis's company, Hunter Studios, that December. She was still alive, but her home no longer belonged to her.
The pair then took out a mortgage of $552,500 against the house and netted $312,037.57 after fees. The proceeds were funneled into corporate accounts controlled by Roy, who personally received at least $15,000. Bherwani died in June 2025, never able to return to her home. Her son, Kamal Bherwani, said his mother had been devastated, thanked the Attorney General's Office for delivering justice, and said he hoped the case would warn other families to stay vigilant.
Quimis and Roy were indicted on August 7, 2025. On November 5, Quimis pleaded guilty before Judge Leigh Cheng in Queens County Supreme Court to two counts of Grand Larceny in the First Degree and one count of Residential Mortgage Fraud in the Second Degree. Under the plea agreement, both forged deeds will be vacated and the home returned to the Bherwani family. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2027, to an agreed term of 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison. The Attorney General's Office will also apply to void the $552,500 mortgage.
Roy is charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, Residential Mortgage Fraud in the First Degree, and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. She has pleaded not guilty, and her trial is scheduled for February 8, 2027; the charges against her remain allegations to be decided at trial.
"Victor Quimis took advantage of a woman in the final months of her life, stealing her cherished home and life savings," Attorney General James said, adding that the plea ensures he is held accountable and that the home returns to the family.
Related: Notorious NYC Deed Thief Who Stole Two Harlem Brownstones Sentenced to 7 to 21 Years in Prison
Source: New York State Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约市皇后县 Kew Gardens Hills 住宅区 Hyde Park Gardens 一带（资料图，非涉案住宅）。照片：Tdorante10，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Hyde Park Gardens in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York City (file photo; not the property in the case). Photo by Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
