 |
| Josie Almonte |
Almonte, was found responsible for 19 counts of third-degree grand larceny, two of grand larceny in the fourth and first grade. Also of criminal impersonation (impostor) and others related to their fraud scheme.
After the sentence imposed by Judge Wittner, the magistrate issued 15 orders of protection for each of the victims. The trial he faced Almonte, who chose their victims in Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx, lasted four weeks.
The jury found her guilty of 28 of the 32 charges. The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Ritch, who asked for a more dramatic statement against Dominican. The prosecutor asked the judge also ordered the return of money, but a preliminary investigation showed that there is nothing in your bank account.
Despite the conviction, Almonte, maintained his innocence and it was unclear if his lawyer will appeal the conviction.
defrauded 16 victims in a real estate fraud, and according to the record, took advantage of the vulnerability of those in need of apartments and houses and sought the benefit of Section 8 (housing program the federal government).
The sentenced was taking money with false promises of assistance to victims and get them a government subsidized housing. The prosecutor said the case of Almonte, is representative of criminals who take advantage of the needs of the people to steal across different types of scams.
The woman was found guilty of pyramid scheme on 9 March this year and is responsible for 28 counts related to crimes of first-degree grand larceny, scheme to defraud and criminal impersonation.
He posed as "agent" of real estate and in some cases gave self-graded cards as such and said he owned the Empire Real Estate company, having worked in 2008 for a short time as a translator for that company.
She never authorized to use cards real estate company, so usurped the name of the company. Requested deposits 2,000 and $ 10,000 to some of his victims by promising to get them Section 8 apartments. Almost all cheated and defrauded, had a document called "vouchers" (worth) that delivers that program to those who pre-qualify for the apartments from the government. The document was about to expire, which she also used to promise to "update" and get housing. Showed
rental properties in Manhattan and the Bronx to the victims even though he was not authorized to do so. Even signed "contracts" (Leases) of leases, gave "keys" of apartments and in some cases, given receipts to the duped and cheated as proof of the money that had been delivered.
They provided their personal information to the scammer.
Several of the victims contacted the Housing Authority, but received no response on their cases, discovering that they had no files or records relating to requests for Section 8. The victims complained to the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who referred the case to prosecutors.
"These criminals must understand they are not beyond our reach and can not cheat justice, "the prosecutor added.
Judicial officials urged Dominican immigrants and other countries that if they have been victims of fraud, his office is the safest place for them and urged them to denounce scammers, regardless of immigration status who have a condition that they were not questioned by investigators from the prosecutor.
"Never disclose immigration status of anyone. We are here to defend them and to stop criminals in their communities, but this can not be done without the cooperation of the victims, "the prosecutor said.
The prosecution holds open the hot line Program for Immigrants Affairs (212) 335-4016. There are bilingual staff to assist in different languages \u200b\u200bto foreigners who are not proficient in English.
0 comments:
Post a Comment