NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Brooklyn man was convicted on Wednesday for impersonating the son of a widow, stealing her home under false documents and later selling it for over $200,000, prosecutors said.
Christopher Williams, 42, manipulated legal documents to declare himself the property owner of a home in Jamaica, Queens, which belonged to Barbara Mathews who had inherited the home after her father's death in 2011.
Mathews in August 2021 received notification that a new deed and additional documents had been submitted and filled out without her knowledge with the New York City Department of Finance while at the time she was planning to renovate the then-empty home.
An investigation opened up and found that Williams' had submitted fake birth certificates and death certificates identifying Matthews as his mother.
Williams entered a guilty plea in August to charges of first-degree identity theft and second-degree offering a false instrument for filing.
Following his illegal claim of ownership, he sold the property for $270,000 and cashed a proceeds check for $214,535 at a Bronx check cashing facility.
"We will not tolerate deceitful tactics to usurp ownership of properties, and we are committed to full restoration for victims," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Williams was sentenced to a two to four-year prison.
The court approved the immediate restitution of the stolen property's deed back to Mathews.
