By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday that South Ozone Park residents Justin Joseph and his wife, Latoya Hewitt, have pleaded guilty to a deed fraud scheme that resulted in houses being stolen from their rightful owners.
As part of the plea, Joseph and Hewitt agreed to pay restitution for homes that were sold to others, including one that was demolished unbeknownst to its owner.
Joseph, 45, pleaded guilty to scheme to defraud in the first degree and three counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree. Joseph is expected to be sentenced to one to three years in prison. He also agreed to void the deeds to five properties and make restitution of $335,256.76, proceeds he received from the fraudulent sale of two of the homes.
Hewitt, 49, pleaded guilty to offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree. She is expected to be sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge after agreeing to void the deed and make restitution of $48,751.48.
The couple were arrested on April 12 following a long-term investigation into the deed fraud by the DA’s Housing & Worker Protection Bureau.
Katz noted that her office will file a motion to apply a state statute and restore the deeds for five properties to their rightful owners, sparing the victims the time and expense of additional legal proceedings in civil court.
According to the charges and plea agreements:
On March 25, 2019, Joseph and Hewitt filed a false document with the City Department of Finance recording a deed transfer of a home on Pinegrove Street in Jamaica from a 78-year-old woman, who was its rightful owner, to Hewitt. The deed included the seal of a notary public who denied that it was his signature on the document and that the seal was authentic. Hewitt, while acting in concert with her husband, proceeded to sell the home. She obtained a forged death certificate to facilitate the transaction. The property sold in November 2019 for $315,000. Hewitt received a check for proceeds of $48,751.48, and her husband and his mother received a check for $40,000 each.
In September 2019, Joseph filed a false deed transferring property on 181st Street in Springfield Gardens to himself. He forged the signature of the rightful owner, who lived elsewhere. In November 2019, Joseph sold the home for $355,000. Joseph received a check for $255,256.76. The home was later demolished, which the rightful owner discovered when she drove by the property. A new home was built in its place.
In December 2019, Joseph submitted a false deed to the City to transfer property on 155th Street in Jamaica to himself. He falsely represented that he bought the property for $50,000.
In March 2020, Joseph submitted a fraudulent deed transfer to the City and forged the signature of the rightful owner of a property on 207th Street in Queens Village.
In April 2020, Joseph submitted a deed transfer to the City for a property on 131st Street in South Ozone Park. He forged the real owner’s signature and created a fake identify for himself.
“No one should think they will get away with stealing the most valuable asset most people ever work to attain,” Katz said.
