Tuesday, June 28, 2005

DA BROWN: FORMER STOCK TRADER CHARGED IN $900,000 REAL ESTATE REFINANCING SCHEME; ALLEGEDLY PAID FOR FORGED DOCUMENTS AND HIRED FEMALE TO POSE AS WIFE IN ATTEMPT TO REFINANCE MORTGAGE; FACES UP TO SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a Little Neck, Queens former stock trader has been charged in a $900,000 real estate refinancing scheme in which he is alleged to have attempted to refinance his wife’s Little Neck home without her knowledge, to have paid someone for fraudulent documents and to have hired a woman to pose as his wife at the real estate closing. The defendant faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

District Attorney Brown said, “According to the charges, the defendant attempted to refinance a home owned by his wife without her knowledge. He allegedly hired a woman to pose as his wife and purchased a fraudulent driver’s license and passport.”

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Timothy Rafferty, 49, of 7 Willow Street in Little Neck, Queens. The defendant has been charged with Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, Attempted Identity Theft in the First and Second Degree, Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

The District Attorney said that according to a criminal court complaint, on June 27, 2005 at approximately 2:30 p.m., at the law offices of Manton, Sweeney, Gallo, Reich and Bolz at 95-25 Queens Boulevard, in Forest Hills, Queens, the defendant and an unapprehended female -- who allegedly posed as his wife -- met with attorney Michael Reich for the purpose of a real estate closing, specifically in an attempt to refinance the mortgage on a home located at 7 Willow Street in Little Neck that was solely owned by the defendant’s wife, Marie Rafferty. The unapprehended female allegedly produced a forged New York State driver’s license and a United States passport in the name of Marie Rafferty with photos of the unapprehended female. The unapprehended female is alleged to have signed and initialized a mortgage security agreement numerous times with the name of Marie Rafferty as the borrower and with the lender as Emigrant Mortgage Company, Inc. for the amount of $900,000.

It is alleged that the defendant and the female posing as Marie Rafferty attempted to flee after discovery of the forged documents. The female is still being sought. The defendant was detained at the law office by members of the law firm and later arrested by detectives of the Queens District Attorney’s Detective Squad. He was arraigned earlier today in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Mary O’Donoghue who held the defendant without bail and set a return date of July 12, 2005.

According to the District Attorney, the defendant admitted to paying an individual $3,500 to provide him with a fraudulent driver’s license and passport of his wife and to hiring a female to pose as his wife so that he could refinance the home.

The investigation was conducted by Detectives Edward J. Russell and Evelyn Alegre of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau under the supervision of Sergeant Richard A. Scantlebury and the overall supervision of Lawrence J. Festa, Chief Investigator and Albert D. Verlardi, Deputy Chief.

Assistant District Attorney Jason P. Garelick of the District Attorney's Economic and Environmental Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Diane M. Peress, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.