NY AG: Long Island Man Pinched For Using False, Forged Docs In Failed Attempt To Dupe Bankster Into Approving Short Sale, Scamming Thousand$ From Prospective Brooklyn Homebuying Couple By Refusing To Refund Their Downpayment Cash After Anticipated Flip Flew South

From the Office of the New York Attorney General:

• Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman [] announced the arrest of Fedlaire Aristide, 47, of Freeport, N.Y., for allegedly attempting to defraud Wells Fargo in a short sale scam that would have cost the bank hundreds of thousands of dollars. Aristide, who is not a licensed real estate broker or agent, is also charged with stealing thousands of dollars from a Brooklyn couple who he conned into giving him money towards the purchase of the same home, located in Brooklyn, which Aristide did not own and never acquired. If convicted, the defendant faces up to seven years in prison.
  
  
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  According to the Attorney General’s indictment and statements made by prosecutors at arraignment, Aristide allegedly submitted, or aided in the submission, of false and forged documents to Wells Fargo in an effort to defraud the bank into approving a short sale – a process in which a bank agrees to modify and reduce an existing residential mortgage loan – of a Brooklyn home. The submitted documents contained contracts of sale and other supporting documents normally relied upon to show a legitimate offer and sale of property. Aristide used these documents to mislead the bank and attempted to steal money. A short sale would have allowed Aristide to purchase the home at a price far below what was owed, giving Aristide a windfall profit. In essence, if the short sale were approved, the bank would have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on the property and Aristide would have made tens of thousands of dollars by using or accessing the equity in the home.
  
  Additionally, the indictment alleges that Aristide also conned a Brooklyn couple into giving him thousands of dollars towards the purchase of the same Brooklyn home. Aristide falsely represented that, after he acquired the home at a short sale, he would sell them the home. When the bank rejected Aristide’s short sale offers, Aristide kept the money and refused to return it.
  
  The defendant is charged with Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a Class D felony), Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony), Forgery in the Second (a class D felony), Attempted Residential Mortgage Fraud in the Second Degree (a class D felony), Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (a class E felony) and a violation of Real Property Law section 442-e (a misdemeanor).

For the press release, see A.G. Schneiderman Announces Arrest Of Long Island Man For Attempted Residential Mortgage Fraud In Brooklyn (Fedlaire Aristide Allegedly Tried to Steal Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars From Wells Fargo By Submitting False Documents For Short Sale; Aristide Also Charged With Stealing Thousands From Brooklyn Couple Who Gave Him A Down Payment For A Home He Did Not Own).