Brooklyn Real Estate Mogul Convicted In $2.4M Fraud Scheme

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn jury found a local business owner guilty of a $2.4 million conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and the defendant now faces up to 30 years in prison.

The conviction was announced by Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, on Friday after a 12-day trial in Brooklyn.

According to the prosecutors, Avraham Tarshish, 40, manipulated and duped homeowners into selling their properties to him for less than the mortgage owed by lowering the property values and then immediately reselling the property at a much higher price, while working as an employee at My Ideal Property, Inc. and other companies that he owned with four other co-defendants.

In some cases, prosecutors said Tarshish's group also intentionally damaged properties to lower their value, placed fraudulent liens on homes and blocked the homeowners from receiving better offers.

During the investigation, the prosecutors presented evidence for 11 such cases, which, in total, scammed homeowners out of a collective $2.4 million between March 2013 and November 2018.

“The defendant defrauded taxpayer-funded mortgage loan holders out of millions of dollars and took advantage of programs designed to help distressed property owners in need,” Peace said.

“Short sale mortgage fraud not only harms lending intuitions, it also depresses real estate values throughout our neighborhoods and prevents community members from gaining fair access to housing."

Four others involved in the scheme also pleaded guilty.

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