A Brooklyn woman who ran a real estate Ponzi scheme that stole $959,000 from nine victim received a prison sentence of three-and-a-half to seven years.
Regine Norman, also known as Regine Ellis, falsely promoted herself as a member of NY Private Auction Inc., which she said gave her exclusive access to discounted properties in Brooklyn and in the surrounding New York area. Between May 2018 and September 2020, she convinced her victims to wire her money for down payments on the properties. After receiving the funds, Norman gave her victims fraudulent contracts of sale, several including the forged signature of the actual property owner.
Several victims eventually became suspicious of Norman and demanded refunds. After delaying repayments, Norman returned the full amount of the stolen funds to four victims by using funds stolen from more recent victims, and she also paid a portion of the stolen funds to three other victims. Seven of her victims were never refunded.
Norman pleaded guilty to six counts of second-degree grand larceny and three counts of third-degree grand larceny on Jan. 31. In addition to her prison sentence, she was ordered to pay restitution totaling $842,000.
“With today’s sentencing this defendant has been brought to justice,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “The defendant sought to take advantage of Brooklyn’s rising real estate values to steal money from investors. I would caution individuals to carefully consider with whom they invest their savings.”
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