NY State Cops Bust Albany Man In Alleged Snatch & Flip Scam; More Arrests Expected In Racket That Used Forged Deeds To Hijack Title To As Many As 80 Homes, Then Sell Or Rent Them To Unwitting Targets Throughout Seven Upstate NY Counties

In Troy, New York, the Albany Times Union reports:

• The deeds and leases listed the address of The Trump Building in New York City, giving an air of authority to documents State Police now say were fake.
  
  In the last few weeks, investigators have uncovered evidence of forged deeds for foreclosed homes in seven Capital Region and Hudson Valley counties that date back 18 months. Officials said they expect to uncover as many as 80 forged deeds.
  
  One man is under arrest in the case, authorities said.
  
  It's affecting people who thought they were getting a deal on buying a home or renting an apartment. In either case, payments were always made in cash, according to authorities.
  
  The deeds are typically just three pages long and involve property transfers between two trust accounts. Zarak O. Ali or Darryl Casale are listed as the trustees, according to the documents.
  
  "It's just created a big mess. You have all these documents that are public records that are false," said Investigator Bruce MacWatters of the State Police Special Investigations Unit in Albany.
  
  Deeds from Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Columbia, Dutchess and Ulster counties are under investigation. County clerks have been asked to check their records and received pictures of Ali and Casale.
  
  "It's creating a lot of issues," MacWatters said. "What do the tenants do?"
  
  That's what Krissa Allen wants to know. She and her boyfriend rented an apartment from Casale for $800 a month at 141 Maple Ave. in Troy's Eastside neighborhood near the Emma Willard School. Casale and Ali are listed as trustees on the deed filed with the Rensselaer County Clerk's Office.
  
  Allen said she's glad she turned down Casale's offer to sell her a house at 63 Collins Ave. for $50,000.
  
  In both cases, Casale expected payments in cash, Allen said. Her lease listed his address as 40 Wall St., New York City, the address for The Trump Building. Allen said she asked for a copy and was given an unsigned document.
  
  "He had me fooled. He played me. It's not fair," she said. "What are we going to do?" said Allen, who is fearful she could face eviction after moving in last month. Allen said investigators told her, "You're just the tip of the iceberg."
  
  On April 15, troopers arrested Ali, 42, of 29 Maiden Lane, Albany, on one count of third-degree burglary, two counts of offering a false instrument for filing and two counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, all felonies. He was released on $25,000 bail.
  
  Casale, 25, of 22 Brickley Drive, Albany, has not been charged. His address is among those on a list of suspected forged deeds officials provided to the Times Union.
  
  Police said more arrests are expected. The case was forwarded to a Rensselaer County grand jury for investigation, according to court records.
  
  A man who answered the telephone listed online for Ali's real estate business said, "You have a wrong number," and hung up.
  
  The alleged scheme was revealed when the Rensselaer County Real Property Tax Services Office staff noticed unusual property transfers between two trusts in several real estate transactions filed by Ali.
  
  "Our mapping unit was reviewing the legal descriptions. They caught it," said William Film, the director of the tax services office.
  
  Film said the giveaways were the exchange of properties between two trusts and the sloppy paperwork. The property description was usually only a paragraph long, when typically it is lengthier. The trustees' names were written in by hand instead of typed.
  
  The investigation is focused primarily on Ali, who is involved in every investigation in Rensselaer County, according to police and the documents.
  
  "He's got a lot of moxie," Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola said. Merola said the suspect deeds involved foreclosed properties or, in some cases, parcels whose owners had died. He said it can be three years before a bank sells a property after taking it over.
  
  Merola and Film met with Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove and the State Police, who launched the regional investigation. Albany County Clerk Bruce Hidley said his staff found similar filings after learning about what happened in Rensselaer County. He turned over suspect deeds to District Attorney David Soares and the State Police.
  
  "He's doing bad things not just to the counties but to the people," Hidley said. "You have to feel badly for the victims this guy is taking advantage of."

Source: State Police probe fake deed scheme.