93 Year Old Queens Man Bilked Out Of $800,000 Of Property In Alleged Real Estate Scam

In New York City, The Daily News reports on one unwitting elderly victim of a real estate scam that cost him plenty:

• While predatory lenders have been known to focus on minority neighborhoods, the most common targets are the elderly, [Queens DA's office head of economic crimes investigations Greg] Pavlides said. "They are the most vulnerable," he said. "They're equity rich and cash poor."

• Nobody knows that more than Mary Thompson, 66, whose father, Artee McKoy, 93, a retired barber, was bilked of $800,000 worth of property by a close friend's daughter. Alexandra Gilmore, 36, ingratiated herself to McKoy, who lives alone in Jamaica and suffers from dementia. Gilmore then swiped the deed to his home and flipped his investment property in Bayside twice, using refinancing schemes she set up without his permission, prosecutors said. "He's a very good, warm-hearted person. He'd give you the shirt off his back," said Thompson, who lives in New Jersey. She is now seeking justice and restitution in court for her father.

• However, prosecutors can take care of only half of that task, Pavlides noted. "We can put the bad guys in handcuffs, but we can't get you your house back," he said of the distinction between criminal and civil cases. Fraud crimes carry three- to nine-year sentences. But a defendant who can pay back a victim's losses can walk away with time served or a lighter sentence.

• Thompson said she was "very happy" about Gilmore's February arrest. But it didn't quite deliver peace of mind, she said. "They were doing their duty and their job, but that doesn't help pay off these big loans," she said of the prosecutors. "My father could be put out of the house at any time."

For the story, see Homeowners duped into signing over property have little recourse.

Go here for the Queens District Attorney news release on this case.

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