NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Long Island man was sentenced to prison on Friday for stealing a Queens home by forging documents and "creating a fictitious character" to initiate the transaction, according to prosecutors.
Marcus Wilcher, 48, was sentenced to three to nine years in prison for stealing an East Elmhurst home by pretending to be the owner's fictitious son, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
"We will not allow scam artists to get away with targeting homes thinking they will make an easy profit through deed fraud," Katz said. "I created a Housing and Worker Protection Bureau to prosecute bad actors who want to steal people's most valuable asset, their home."
According to court documents, the victim had owned a home on 106th Street in East Elmhurst since May 1974 but was not living there in 2022. On Nov. 1, 2022, Wilcher filed a deed with the New York City Department of Finance, transferring the property from its rightful owner to an LLC for $320,000.
He then stole the owner's date of birth and Social Security number, creating a forged New York State driver's license in the owner's name. Wilcher also invented a fake character named "Paul," who was purported to be her son, and made an email address for him.
Wilcher, identifying himself as Paul, hired an attorney to represent the owner and her "son."
According to prosecutors, he forged a power of attorney so the lawyer could represent the owner in real estate, banking and business transactions.
An investigation revealed that the victim did not give power of attorney to the lawyer, and her signature was forged. The lawyer hired by Wilcher had never met the property owner and communicated with someone he thought was her son. The phone number given as the owner's was actually Wilcher's. The sale contract was signed electronically using a fake email address linked to Wilcher. The proceeds from the house sale were transferred to Wilcher's bank accounts.
Wilcher pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the second degree last month.
