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
纽约市 — 纽约州总检察长办公室11月10日宣布，偷走纽约市曼哈顿 Harlem 两栋棕石住宅、把年迈的原房主逼进无家可归者收容所的 Joseph Makhani（63岁，住纽约州长岛 Kings Point），当天在纽约州高等法院被判处合计7至21年监禁。纽约州总检察长 Letitia James 在量刑后发表声明，称他是臭名昭著的窃贼，专挑纽约最脆弱的居民下手。
Makhani 偷走的第一栋楼位于西118街107号。房主年事已高，2019年住进疗养院调养期间，他伪造地契把这栋当时价值约290万美元的棕石楼过户到自己名下，又以这栋楼作抵押贷出120万美元。房主出院回家后，Makhani 反过来向法院申请驱逐这位老人，老人最终被迫住进无家可归者收容所。拿到房子后，他把楼内单元以每月最高3,400美元的价格出租牟利。
第二栋楼位于西131街135号，2018年价值约180万美元，房主当时住在佛罗里达州，对房子被偷毫不知情。Makhani 伪造地契过户后收租多年，后来又把自己在这栋楼的份额卖给了一名投资人。
今年早些时候，Makhani 被裁定两项一级持有赃物罪与一项一级诈骗罪成立。11月10日，州高等法院法官 Michele Rodney 就西118街一案判处他4至12年监禁，就西131街一案判处3至9年，两项刑期依次执行；诈骗罪另判1又1/3至4年，与前两项同期执行，三项合计7至21年。
由于 Makhani 没有偿还西118街那笔120万美元抵押贷款，法院还罕见地在刑事案中判令他向放贷方 Flushing Bank 支付50万美元赔偿，须在2027年5月7日前付清。法院将另行择期举行听证，决定是否撤销西118街107号的地契与抵押登记，把房子还给原房主一家。
总检察长 Letitia James 说，Makhani 的罪行给受害者带来了深远而持久的伤害，「今天的判决确保他将在监狱里为自己的行为付出代价」。此案由总检察长办公室房地产执法组的助理总检察长 Whitney Modiri 与 Kevin Luongo 负责起诉，调查员 Cynthia Laporte、Anna Ospanova 等人参与调查。
关联：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
Notorious NYC Deed Thief Who Stole Two Harlem Brownstones Sentenced to 7 to 21 Years in Prison
NEW YORK CITY — The New York State Attorney General's Office announced on November 10 that Joseph Makhani, 63, of Kings Point on Long Island, who stole two brownstones in Harlem, Manhattan, and forced the elderly owner of one of them into a homeless shelter, was sentenced in New York State Supreme Court that day to a combined 7 to 21 years in prison. Attorney General Letitia James, in a statement after the sentencing, called him a notorious thief who preyed on New York's most vulnerable residents.
The first property Makhani stole was at 107 West 118th Street. While its elderly owner was recovering in a nursing home in 2019, he forged a deed transferring the brownstone, then worth about $2.9 million, to himself, and took out a $1.2 million mortgage against it. When the owner came home from the nursing home, Makhani petitioned the court to evict her, and she was ultimately forced into a homeless shelter. He then rented out units in the building for as much as $3,400 a month.
The second property, at 135 West 131st Street, was worth about $1.8 million in 2018. Its owner was living in Florida and had no idea the home had been stolen. After recording a forged deed, Makhani collected rent on the building for years and later sold his interest in it to an investor.
Earlier this year, Makhani was convicted of two counts of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. On November 10, State Supreme Court Justice Michele Rodney sentenced him to 4 to 12 years on the 118th Street property and 3 to 9 years on the 131st Street property, to run consecutively, plus 1 1/3 to 4 years on the fraud count, to run concurrently, for a combined total of 7 to 21 years.
Because Makhani defaulted on the $1.2 million mortgage on the 118th Street property, the court also took the unusual step of ordering restitution within the criminal case: he must pay $500,000 to the lender, Flushing Bank, by May 7, 2027. The court will hold a separate hearing at a later date on vacating the deed and mortgage for 107 West 118th Street so the property can be returned to the owner's family.
"Joseph Makhani's crimes caused profound and lasting damage," Attorney General James said, adding that the sentence ensures he will pay for his actions behind bars. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Whitney Modiri and Kevin Luongo of the Real Estate Enforcement Unit, with investigative work by Investigators Cynthia Laporte and Anna Ospanova, among others.
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：纽约市曼哈顿 Harlem 的 Lenox Avenue 棕石联排住宅（资料图，非涉案建筑）。照片：Jim Henderson，CC0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Brownstone rowhouses on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City (file photo; not the properties in the case). Photo by Jim Henderson, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
