Notorious NYC Deed Thief Who Stole Two Harlem Brownstones Sentenced to 7 to 21 Years in Prison
NEW YORK CITY — The New York State Attorney General's Office announced on November 10 that Joseph Makhani, 63, of Kings Point on Long Island, who stole two brownstones in Harlem, Manhattan, and forced the elderly owner of one of them into a homeless shelter, was sentenced in New York State Supreme Court that day to a combined 7 to 21 years in prison. Attorney General Letitia James, in a statement after the sentencing, called him a notorious thief who preyed on New York's most vulnerable residents.
The first property Makhani stole was at 107 West 118th Street. While its elderly owner was recovering in a nursing home in 2019, he forged a deed transferring the brownstone, then worth about $2.9 million, to himself, and took out a $1.2 million mortgage against it. When the owner came home from the nursing home, Makhani petitioned the court to evict her, and she was ultimately forced into a homeless shelter. He then rented out units in the building for as much as $3,400 a month.
The second property, at 135 West 131st Street, was worth about $1.8 million in 2018. Its owner was living in Florida and had no idea the home had been stolen. After recording a forged deed, Makhani collected rent on the building for years and later sold his interest in it to an investor.
Earlier this year, Makhani was convicted of two counts of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. On November 10, State Supreme Court Justice Michele Rodney sentenced him to 4 to 12 years on the 118th Street property and 3 to 9 years on the 131st Street property, to run consecutively, plus 1 1/3 to 4 years on the fraud count, to run concurrently, for a combined total of 7 to 21 years.
Because Makhani defaulted on the $1.2 million mortgage on the 118th Street property, the court also took the unusual step of ordering restitution within the criminal case: he must pay $500,000 to the lender, Flushing Bank, by May 7, 2027. The court will hold a separate hearing at a later date on vacating the deed and mortgage for 107 West 118th Street so the property can be returned to the owner's family.
"Joseph Makhani's crimes caused profound and lasting damage," Attorney General James said, adding that the sentence ensures he will pay for his actions behind bars. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Whitney Modiri and Kevin Luongo of the Real Estate Enforcement Unit, with investigative work by Investigators Cynthia Laporte and Anna Ospanova, among others.
Source: New York State Attorney General's Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约市曼哈顿 Harlem 的 Lenox Avenue 棕石联排住宅（资料图，非涉案建筑）。照片：Jim Henderson，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Brownstone rowhouses on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City (file photo; not the properties in the case). Photo by Jim Henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
