Elderly man, 90, faces eviction after falling victim to ‘heartless scammer’
A 90-year-old New York man is on the brink of being evicted from his brownstone home after falling victim to an alleged deed scam decades ago.
Ray Cortez, a Brooklyn resident who has owned his Park Slope home since 1969, may lose everything after he was tricked by the alleged fraudster in 2006.
At the time, Ray had bought the property for for $200,000. It is now valued at $3 million.
The elderly man says he was conned by an alleged scammer known as Wilson Calle who managed to transfer the deed of the house to their own name under the guise of helping him.
Shortly after, the alleged conman is accused of taking out a $700,000 mortgage on the house and eventually, the bank sold it at foreclosure for $2 million – which Ray only discovered a decade later.
Ray Cortez, a Brooklyn resident who has owned his Park Slope home since 1969, may lose everything after he was tricked by the alleged fraudster in 2006
Now, Ray and his son Ray Jr. have been forced to attend housing court to prevent being evicted from their longtime family home.
‘You know, it’s heartbreaking. It’s been too long for him to have to carry this with him. It’s been devastating,’ Ray Jr. said.
The eviction is on hold until September 9 when all parties will reconvene to see where the appellate court motion stands.
Ray’s lawyer, Bill Lienhard, also said that such scams have become increasingly common: ‘If you go into certain neighborhoods, mostly communities of color in Brooklyn, kind of from Prospect Heights over towards East New York and then southeast Queens, everybody on every block knows somebody who has been a victim of deed theft or real estate fraud.’
‘You know, it’s heartbreaking. It’s been too long for him to have to carry this with him. It’s been devastating,’ Ray Jr. said
The elderly man says he was conned by an alleged scammer known as Wilson Calle who managed to transfer the deed of the house to their own name under the guise of helping him
Ray and his son Ray Jr. have been forced to attend housing court to prevent being evicted from their longtime family home
A petition has been launched to help prevent the eviction by a group called ‘Justice For 91 St Marks Place’.
The page reads: ‘Mr. Cortez has been a staple of the neighborhood since 1969 when he and his wife acquired their property through hard work and sacrifice. They raised their children there. They made their home there.
‘Mr. Cortez’ dilemma is yet another example of how hard-working, elderly immigrant homeowners are being swindled by career criminal vultures in our communities.
‘Mr. Calle and his associates preyed upon Mr. Cortez, and other victims, by appealing to their religious nature, passing themselves off as religious leaders of fake ministries.’
Accusations of deed forgery are common throughout the United States.
Last year, a 35-year-old New York woman was arrested on charges of forging a deed to seize ownership of an elderly woman’s house – but insisted she was given the house as a thanks for caring for her.
Aurelia Soogea, 35, appeared in court in Nassau County, on Long Island, and pleaded not guilty to forgery and theft.
She was accused of paying $10 to transfer the deed of her mother’s neighbor’s $350,000 home to her name.
The owner, 78-year-old Rosemarie Mika, claimed that she was informed of the deed transfer in a letter from Nassau County authorities.