Four people and three companies were indicted for a series of deed theft schemes that resulted in three New York City homeowners having their residences stolen.
The schemes occurred between March and July 2023 and impacted homeowners in the Kew Gardens Hills, Queens Village and Jamaica Estates sections of Queens. As part of this scheme, the participants falsified documents and filed false deeds with the City Register’s office. Among those impacted was an 82-year-old woman and a 76-year-old woman – the latter’s deed was stolen with documents that included a fake signature of a former co-owner who died in 2016 and a fraudulent notary signature.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said the indictments carried charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, conspiracy and other crimes. The indicted individuals included Autumn Valeri, a licensed real estate agent who gained a social media following with a series of glamour photographs. Valeri, along with collaborators Carl Avinger, Lawrence T. Ray and Torey Guice, surrendered on March 18 and have been arraigned. The three companies indicted were Shuler Management LLC, Kubick Ray Kubick LLC and Castaneda Ray Family LLC.
“Property ownership is a fundamental right and my office works to protect that right in this borough,” said Katz in a statement. “As alleged, the defendants acted in concert to target properties for theft, forge documents, file false instruments and ultimately steal homes from the rightful owners. My Housing and Worker Protection Bureau investigates and prosecutes bad actors who often think they can get away with stealing the most valuable asset of Queens residents. Thank you to my prosecutors, detectives and analysists for their work on this case.”
Photo: Autumn Valeri, courtesy of her Facebook page
