To almost two dozen potential New York renters, Juan Valoy gave the impression to be an trustworthy actual property dealer. However prosecutors say he was a faux who pocketed $105,000 of their cash.
The phony dealer has pleaded responsible to 2 circumstances in Manhattan and within the Bronx for a rip-off that included taking charges, safety deposits and first-month rents after exhibiting flats for which he neither owned nor had rights, Gothamist reported. He’ll spend at the least 4 years behind bars.
The boroughs’ district legal professional’s workplaces say he stole round $25,000 from three victims in Manhattan and $80,000 from 18 victims within the Bronx. Most of his victims have been Hispanic and primarily Spanish-speaking.
Valoy admitted to authorities the deposits for flats he’d taken have been his sole supply of revenue, based on voluntary disclosure types Bronx prosecutors supplied to Gothamist.
“I used to work as a Realtor. Enterprise went dangerous, and I needed to make some cash. I began exhibiting flats as a result of I understand how to be a Realtor,” Valoy disclosed. “I might have folks fill out the appliance and submit them.
“It’s not my fault that the functions weren’t accepted and I can not return the cash as a result of I spent it,” he stated.
In Manhattan, Valoy pleaded responsible to 1 depend of grand larceny below a plea deal that requires him to be sentenced to 2 to 4 years in state jail on Sept. 9, District Legal professional Alvin Bragg stated.
Within the Bronx, Valoy pleaded responsible to tried housebreaking and scheme to defraud, and was sentenced to 4 years in state jail adopted by 5 years of supervised launch, an assistant district legal professional within the borough’s workplace stated.
“New Yorkers trusted Juan Valoy to hire them flats. He broke that belief by pocketing their cash, leaving them with out properties,” Bragg stated in an announcement. “Juan Valoy is going through time in state jail for his dangerous conduct. Manhattan is going through a housing disaster, and we are going to prosecute those that exploit it for their very own benefit.”
Valoy’s rip-off was easy: he’d present determined potential renters renovated flats that he had no proper to hire, then take from $2,500 to $7,000 from every sufferer, promising their cash would assure the unit as a result of there have been many events, based on prosecutors.
He’d then not return their calls, or refuse to refund their cash, the district attorneys stated.
Prosecutors have been presenting their case to a grand jury final yr when Valoy stopped exhibiting up for trial, based on the Bronx District Legal professional’s workplace. They discovered he’d began working in Manhattan.
Bronx and Manhattan prosecutors discovered him hiding in motels in Yonkers, Bronx officers stated. He was arrested and bail was set for $150,000. Valoy was unable to make bail and is now on Rikers Island.
It’s not the primary time Valoy posed as a Realtor to defraud renters. In 2014, he was sentenced to as much as 4 years in state jail for stealing hundreds of {dollars} in an condominium rip-off in Washington Heights.
– Dana Bartholomew
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