After investigating the $20 sale of two New York brownstones in 2012,
The allegations include residential mortgage fraud, possession of stolen property, falsifying business records and scheme to defraud between November 2012 and June 2021. Located in the neighborhood of Harlem in Manhattan, the two buildings currently have an estimated combined value of $4.2 million.
“Deed theft continues to be a crime that permeates our neighborhoods, and preys upon our most vulnerable, leading to a cycle of displacement and grief,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a press release. “New Yorkers should never have to fear that their homes will be targeted by predatory individuals.”
The prosecution alleges Makhani stole the first property on West 118th Street from its elderly, disabled owner through forged deeds and falsified documents from his limited liability corporations. They say the defendant claimed to have purchased the property for $975,000 when taking out a $650,000 construction line of credit and that he secured a $1.2 million mortgage, renovated the apartments and collected monthly rents totaling $12,000, according to court files. The property is currently valued at roughly $2.29 million.
The attorney general’s office also accuses Makhani of fraudulent ownership of a second property on West 131st Street. He allegedly misrepresented himself to a tenant as the building’s owner, got the tenant’s signature and later forged it on a false deed. Makhani is accused of using a series of false deeds, shell companies and fake social security numbers through the court process.
“At Mr. Makhani’s arraignment, my client stated in a loud and clear voice for all to hear, ‘not guilty,’” the defendant’s lawyer Leslie Nizin, said in a statement to NMN. “My client looks forward to his day in court when the facts of this case are heard and he is vindicated. Until that time, the presumption of innocence rings loud and clear.”
Makhani still possesses the building on West 118th but lost West 131st in 2018 because of unpaid tax liens.
