Alleged Bangladeshi Scam Artist Cons Countrymen

In New York City, The New York Times reports on how a Bangladeshi immigrant operating a Jackson Heights, Queens mortgage company allegedly scammed his fellow countrymen, many of whom on financially unstable footing, in real estate investment and mortgage scams. Milton was recently arraigned in Queens on several counts, including identity theft, scheming to defraud and grand larceny involving at least four people. Prosecutors also charged Nira Niru, another Bangladeshi immigrant, with helping Mr. Milton in his activities, at the Jackson Heights mortgage office. An excerpt from the story:

• Since the initial complaint against Mr. Milton and Ms. Niru, about 30 people, most of them Bangladeshi, have come forward to accuse Mr. Milton of defrauding them, according to Richard A. Brown, the Queens district attorney. Prosecutors say that they are not surprised and that the case underscores an all-too-common trend, of immigrants who prey on their own. “I think it is indeed prevalent,” Mr. Brown said. “I think it’s a case of the victims trusting individuals who share the same backgrounds and the same ethnicity as they do. These are people that they feel comfortable with.” [...] The latest prosecution follows two other cases in which people from Bangladesh have been accused by prosecutors in Queens of stealing from their countrymen, for whom Jackson Heights, with its many Bangladeshi stores and restaurants, is a cultural center.

For more, see Bangladeshis in Queens Say Their Trust in a Countryman Cost Them.

Go here for other posts on Jacob Milton.