纽约州刑事地契盗窃法首例定罪：男子认罪偷走临终老人住宅
纽约市 — 纽约州总检察长办公室宣布，纽约市皇后县 Kew Gardens Hills 的一处住宅在女主人接受临终关怀期间被伪造签名偷走，涉案男子 Victor Quimis（40岁）已于11月5日认罪，成为纽约州刑事地契盗窃法生效后第一个被定罪的人。总检察长 Letitia James 说，这起案件表明，该州会追究任何企图偷走他人住宅的人。
受害人 Renuka Bherwani 从1986年起就住在这栋房子里，在此生活了近40年。她上了年纪，身患重病，包括癌症，后来住进临终关怀机构。据总检察长办公室说，Quimis 与69岁的曼哈顿居民 Deepa Roy 合谋，在伪造的地契上签上 Bherwani 的名字：2024年10月先把房子过户到 Roy 名下，同年12月再过户到 Quimis 的公司 Hunter Studios 名下。她还活着，自己的房子却已经不再属于她。
两人得手后以这栋房子作抵押贷出552,500美元，扣掉各项费用净得312,037.57美元，赃款被转进 Roy 控制的公司账户，Roy 本人从中拿到至少15,000美元。Bherwani 于2025年6月去世，直到去世也没能回到自己的家。她的儿子 Kamal Bherwani 说出事后母亲非常沮丧，家人感谢总检察长办公室伸张正义，并希望这起案件能提醒其他家庭提高警惕。
2025年8月7日，总检察长办公室对 Quimis 与 Roy 提起公诉。11月5日，Quimis 在皇后县高等法院法官 Leigh Cheng 面前承认两项一级重大盗窃罪与一项二级住宅抵押贷款欺诈罪。按照认罪协议，两份伪造地契将被撤销，房子归还 Bherwani 一家；案件定于2027年1月15日量刑，Quimis 将被判1.5至4.5年监禁。总检察长办公室还将向法院申请撤销那笔552,500美元抵押贷款。
同案的 Deepa Roy 被指控一级重大盗窃、一级持有赃物、一级住宅抵押贷款欺诈与一级伪造商业记录等罪名。她已表示不认罪，案件定于2027年2月8日开审；对她的指控目前仍属指控，尚待法院审理认定。
总检察长 Letitia James 说，Quimis 在一位女性生命的最后几个月里利用了她，偷走她珍视的家和毕生积蓄，「今天的认罪确保他将为偷走这处住宅承担责任，也确保房子回到这家人手中」。
关联：纽约地契大盗偷走Harlem两栋棕石楼 把年迈房主逼进收容所 被判7至21年
First Conviction Under New York's Criminal Deed Theft Law: Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Dying Woman's Queens Home
NEW YORK CITY — The New York State Attorney General's Office announced that Victor Quimis, 40, pleaded guilty on November 5 to stealing a home in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, from its owner while she was in hospice care, becoming the first person convicted under New York's criminal deed theft law. Attorney General Letitia James said the case shows the state will hold accountable anyone who tries to steal another person's home.
The victim, Renuka Bherwani, had owned and lived in the house since 1986, nearly 40 years. She was elderly and seriously ill, including with cancer, and had entered hospice care. According to the Attorney General's Office, Quimis conspired with Deepa Roy, 69, of Manhattan, to sign Bherwani's name on forged deeds: first transferring the home to Roy in October 2024, then to Quimis's company, Hunter Studios, that December. She was still alive, but her home no longer belonged to her.
The pair then took out a mortgage of $552,500 against the house and netted $312,037.57 after fees. The proceeds were funneled into corporate accounts controlled by Roy, who personally received at least $15,000. Bherwani died in June 2025, never able to return to her home. Her son, Kamal Bherwani, said his mother had been devastated, thanked the Attorney General's Office for delivering justice, and said he hoped the case would warn other families to stay vigilant.
Quimis and Roy were indicted on August 7, 2025. On November 5, Quimis pleaded guilty before Judge Leigh Cheng in Queens County Supreme Court to two counts of Grand Larceny in the First Degree and one count of Residential Mortgage Fraud in the Second Degree. Under the plea agreement, both forged deeds will be vacated and the home returned to the Bherwani family. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2027, to an agreed term of 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison. The Attorney General's Office will also apply to void the $552,500 mortgage.
Roy is charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, Residential Mortgage Fraud in the First Degree, and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. She has pleaded not guilty, and her trial is scheduled for February 8, 2027; the charges against her remain allegations to be decided at trial.
"Victor Quimis took advantage of a woman in the final months of her life, stealing her cherished home and life savings," Attorney General James said, adding that the plea ensures he is held accountable and that the home returns to the family.
Related: Notorious NYC Deed Thief Who Stole Two Harlem Brownstones Sentenced to 7 to 21 Years in Prison
来源：纽约州总检察长办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：纽约市皇后县 Kew Gardens Hills 住宅区 Hyde Park Gardens 一带（资料图，非涉案住宅）。照片：Tdorante10，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Hyde Park Gardens in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York City (file photo; not the property in the case). Photo by Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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