Charges have been brought against four individuals and three companies in connection to a grand larceny case, in which three homes were allegedly stolen from their owners in New York.
The indictments were announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, who detailed the alleged offenses of grand larceny, conspiracy, falsifying documents and other crimes involved in the illegal seizure of residences in the neighborhoods of Kew Gardens Hills, Queens Village and Jamaica Estates.
The accused offenders, Carl Avinger, Autumn Valeri, Lawrence Ray and Torey Guice were arrested without incident and arraigned on March 18.
Avinger, Valeri, and Ray were arraigned on a 47-count indictment that included charges of grand larceny, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, identity theft, and falsifying business records. Guice, 40, was also arraigned on the same charges. Avinger could face 12 1/2 to 25 years in prison, while Valeri and Ray could receive 8 1/3 to 25 years, and Guice could face up to 15 years.
According to the investigation, on April 10, 2023, Avinger, along with Valeri – a licensed real estate agent – filed a false deed transfer with the New York City Department of Finance. This document incorrectly transferred a home from a 76-year-old woman to Ray’s company, Shuler Management LLC. The signature of a deceased former owner was included, along with a fraudulent notary signature.
On April 28, they again filed a false deed transfer with false signatures to transfer another home into the ownership of Kubick Ray Kubick LLC, which is also owned by Ray.
In May 2023, the second home was sold for $600,000, with $442,000 wired to Ray’s account. On May 4, the defendants again filed a false deed for a home transfer from an 82-year-old woman to Castaneda Ray Family LLC, owned by Ray, using another forged signature.
The third party who bought the property sued the victims for legal rights. The district attorney used a new law to pause this civil suit due to the ongoing fraud investigations.
“Property ownership is a fundamental right and my office works to protect that right in this borough,” Katz announced in a press release. “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.”