QUEENS, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the sentencing of Christopher Williams, 43, of Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn, for fraudulently acquiring and selling the home of an elderly widow. Williams received a two to four-year prison sentence from Queens Supreme Court Justice Leigh K. Cheng. The sentence followed his guilty plea to identity theft and offering a false instrument for filing.Justice Cheng also ruled to immediately restore the stolen property’s deed to the widow, applying a state statute.
This decision, initiated by the Queens District Attorney’s office, avoids further civil court proceedings for the victim. This application of the 2019 law marks the second successful use by District Attorney Katz’s office, following a similar case earlier this year.
District Attorney Katz emphasized the commitment to combatting deed fraud and providing victims with “one-stop justice.” The case highlighted the challenges faced by those unable to afford legal battles against well-funded entities in property fraud cases.
Williams’s scheme involved posing as the son of the property owner, Barbara Matthews, and falsifying documents to claim ownership.He sold the Jamaica, Queens property for $270,000 and cashed in over $200,000. The property was initially inherited by Matthews after her father’s death in 2011 and had remained vacant pending renovations. The fraud was discovered when Matthews received a notification of new deeds and mortgages filed without her knowledge.