Harlem Street Hustler Gets 2 1/3 To 7 Years For Fleecing Victims Out Of Ten$ Of Thousand$ By Purporting To Offer Assistance In Obtaining Rental Apartments To Unwitting Immigrants Unfamiliar With Standard Real Estate Industry Business Practices

From the Office of the New York County District Attorney:

• Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., [] announced the sentencing of KOUDEDJA DIAWARA, 55, to 2 1/3-to-7 years in state prison for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the victims of a Harlem apartment scam. On October 8, 2015, the defendant pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to Grand Larceny in the Third and Fourth Degrees, as well as Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree.
  
  “Scam artists choose their victims carefully,” said District Attorney Vance. “By taking advantage of a shared language, faith, or community, they are often able to earn their victims’ trust far before a crime is committed. In this case, the defendant specifically targeted West African immigrants whom she believed she could intimidate with threats. However, my Office’s Immigrant Affairs Unit was created expressly to help crime victims, regardless of immigration status. I strongly encourage anyone who believes that he or she may have been the victim of this scam or a similar one to call my Office’s hotline at 212-335-3600.”
  
  As admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea and according to documents filed in court, between 2012 and 2015, DIAWARA posed as a realtor and offered to help her victims find apartments in exchange for payments ranging from approximately $3,000 to more than $25,000. The defendant, who is originally from West Africa, knew many of her victims from a local place of worship, and in at least one instance, gained a victim’s trust because of a shared connection to the defendant’s hometown. However, instead of obtaining apartments for her victims, DIAWARA pocketed the money and, when confronted, made threats and refused to return the funds. As a result, many families were left homeless, including one with a sick infant.

Source: DA Vance: Phony Realtor Sentenced to 2 1/3-to-7 Years in Prison for Harlem Apartment Scam.