Queens DA Pinches Two Real Estate Agents In Ongoing Probe Into Racket That Allegedly Ripped Off Many Non-English-Speaking Prospective Tenants Out Of Upfront Payments Of $65K+ Purporting To Be For Security Deposits, Rent, Agent Fees & Not Making Promised Apartments Available

From the Office of the Queens County, New York District Attorney:

• Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown [] announced that, as part of an ongoing investigation, two Queens real estate agents have been charged with taking a total of more than $65,000 in security deposits, agent fees and rental payments from 20 prospective tenants over a one-year period between 2014 and 2015 and then never making the apartments available and not returning their deposits. In at least three instances in which prospective tenants were allegedly provided with refund checks, the checks were returned either because the account was frozen/blocked or due to insufficient funds.
  
  District Attorney Brown said, “These arrests are the latest stemming from our ongoing investigation of a Woodside realty company accused of preying on members of the Queens Latino community. Sadly, this case represents an all too common scenario in which allegedly greedy realtors are accused of taking advantage of Queens County’s tight housing market to rob unsuspecting individuals of substantial amounts of their hard-earned savings. To date, our investigation has resulted in three arrests, alleging a total theft of more than $100,000 from 23 prospective tenants.”(1)
  
  District AttorneyBrown said that the matter was initially brought to the attention of his office by the television network Univision, and then by Make the Road New York, an immigrant advocacy organization, and several prospective tenants who met with staff from his Office of Immigrant Affairs who then developed the case by uncovering additional alleged victims.
  
  Anyone who believes that he or she may have been a victim of the defendants’ alleged scheme is asked to contact his Economics Crimes Bureau at 1-718-286-6673 or his Office of Immigrant Affairs at 1-718-286-6690.
  
  For those who do not speak English, they should call the District Attorney’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and state the language they are most comfortable communicating in and then leave a message in that language with their name and telephone number. Someone who speaks that language will return the call.
  
  Ramon Pineda, Senior Vice President/General Manager, of WXTV Univision 41, said, “At Noticias Univision 41 we are glad that the complaints brought to us by our viewers, and the subsequent story, led to an investigation and prosecution. This is a testament to our news team’s never-ending commitment to serving and empowering our community.”
  
  The District Attorney identified the defendants as Victor M. Oaxaca (a/k/a/ Manny Hurtado), 43, of Woodside, Queens, and Roger Garcia, 44, of Flushing, Queens, who were both employed by Fast Solutions Realty (formerly known as Solucions Rapida) and Supreme Realty, all formerly located at 47-20 48 Avenue in Woodside, Queens.

For more, see Two Queens Real Estate Agents Charged With Defrauding 20 Prospective Tenants Out Of Over $65,000 In Deposits And Rent (Ongoing Investigation into Woodside Realty Agency Begun Following Complaints By Prospective Tenants, Univision, and Immigrant Advocacy Organization).

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(1) See Woodside Realtor Charged With Defrauding 19 Prospective Tenants Out Of $76,820 In Deposits And Rent (Defendant Arrested At JFK Airport Following Overseas Flight) for the press release on the earlier arrest in this ongoing probe:

• The District Attorney identified the defendant as Rosita Tsiklauri (a/k/a Rosita Tinoco, Rosie Villegas, Rosy Villegas and Rosy Tinoco), 47, of College Point, Queens, and the chief executive officer of Fast Solutions Realty and Supreme Realty, both formerly located at 47-20 48 Avenue in Woodside, Queens.