D.A.’s Office Alleges Lawyers, Real Estate Brokers, Others Conspired to Help Steal Brownstone in Previously Announced Deed Theft Case
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. today announced the indictment of 18 individuals and three companies for allegedly conspiring to steal the deed to a residential brownstone on West 131st Street and using the property as collateral to fraudulently obtain a mortgage and construction loan in the amount $1,636,000. After these transactions were completed, the defendants allegedly shared with each other the proceeds of that fraudulently obtained mortgage and loan.
ABDUR RAHMAN, ANGELA JAZMIN RAMOS A.K.A ANGELA MARRERO, YUAN KUEI LI A.K.A. MIKE LI, EMILY TORRES, TASHEMA ORTIZ, MATHEW TYREEK MEALY, ANITA DAVIS, JOSEPH MEALY, JACOB MEALY, BRANT ADDISON, LAURENCE GEROWITZ, TORRI CLAYTON, ERNEST WILSON, MICHAEL WEINREB, THOMAS BEATTY, CLIFFORD LEWISOHN, VIBERT SANDERSON, VAUGHN GRANDY, GREAT NECK ACQUISITIONS INC. (“GNA”), WHITE LOTUS CONSULTING INC. (“WLC”), and OCEAN PROPERTY AND TRADING INC. (“OPT”) are each charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, one count of Grand Larceny in the First Degree, one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree, one count of Residential Mortgage Fraud in the First Degree, one count of Insurance Fraud in the First Degree, three counts of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree, two counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, and four counts of Identity Theft in the First Degree. THOMAS BEATTY is also charged with one count of Unlicensed Practice a Crime. [1]
“Eighteen individuals went to extreme lengths to exploit a grieving family by allegedly conspiring to sell the family’s brownstone without their permission and fraudulently obtain a mortgage for profit,” said District Attorney Bragg. “We will prosecute those looking to take advantage of homeowners for personal gain and do not stop investigating until we know the full scope of fraud. Deed theft is one of the key areas of focus for our Housing and Tenant Protection Unit – if you may be a victim, please contact our Housing and Tenant Protection Unit at 212-335-3300 or email Danyhousing@dany.nyc.gov.”
On October 8, 2025, LI, RAMOS, RAHMAN, GNA, WLC, and OPT were arraigned in Supreme Court for allegedly working together to steal the Harlem brownstone and the deed to the property by fraudulently transferring ownership of the building. The defendants allegedly acquired ownership of the building and fraudulently obtained a mortgage and construction loan to renovate the property so they could sell it for profit. More information on the original announcement is here. The D.A.’s Housing and Tenant Protection Unit continued investigating to unravel the other members of the conspiracy and their roles.
As alleged in court documents and statements made on the record, on January 28, 2024, SANDERSON encumbered the residential brownstone on West 131st Street by filing a false UCC lien and attempted mechanic’s lien.
JACOB MEALY, JOSEPH MEALY, ADDISON, and DAVIS allegedly created forged identification cards, birth certificates, and other documents and distributed them to RAMOS, TORRES, ORTIZ, MATHEW TYREEK MEALY, and GRANDY, who used the forged documents to pose as the legal owners of the property and complete the fraudulent transfer of the deed and brownstone to a straw purchaser.
On April 18, 2024, posing as an heir of the family, RAMOS purportedly sold the property to YUAN KUEI LI A/K/A MIKE LI, who posed as a straw buyer. On the same date, YUAN KUEI LI purportedly assigned his contract rights to GREAT NECK ACQUISITIONS INC., an entity owned by defendant ABDUR RAHMAN.
On April 19, 2024, the defendants allegedly participated in an in-person closing for the property where RAMOS, GRANDY, and ORTIZ, posed as some of the legal owners and transferred the deed for the property to GREAT NECK ACQUISITIONS INC/RAHMAN, the second purchaser. Between April 18, 2024, and April 19, 2024, the defendants signed multiple documents consummating the sale and transfer of the brownstone, including the deed. Those documents contained forged signatures from the defendants posing as the owners, as well as their personal identifying information. None of the legal owners actually signed any of the documents or gave their permission or authority to anyone else to sign on their behalf.
LI purportedly purchased the brownstone for $950,000 and then sold the property to GNA/Rahman for $1,515,000, even though no money actually changed hands. Instead, on April 3, 2024, it was RAHMAN who made the “down payment” of $45,000 for the alleged sale. RAHMAN also wrote a check to LI for $346,451.11, purportedly as part of the assignment fee for the purchase of the brownstone, but that check was never negotiated.
Throughout the sale and closing, GEROWITZ acted as the attorney for the purported sellers, CLAYTON acted as the real estate broker for the purported sellers, WEINREB acted as the attorney for RAHMAN and GNA, WILSON posed as LI’s lawyer, and BEATTY – who does not have a broker’s license – posed as RAHMAN and GNA’s real estate broker. LEWISOHN prepared heirship affidavits used during the closing. WEINREB, through his company Omni Title Insurance, served as the title agent for the alleged sale. The defendants participated in the closing, despite knowing that the purported sellers had no permission and authority to transfer the deed.
On April 25, 2024, the fraudulent deed and the mortgage were recorded with the New York City Department of Finance Office of the City Register. Following recording of the deed and receipt of the mortgage funds, each of the defendants allegedly received thousands of dollars that were from the proceeds of the mortgage.
Assistant D.A.s Chikaelo Ibeabuchi (Chief of the Housing & Tenant Protection Unit), and Hannah Stambaugh are handling the prosecution of this case, under the supervision of Hope Korenstein (Deputy Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau), Kofi Sansculotte (Chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau), Judy Salwen (Deputy Chief of the Investigation Division) and Executive Assistant D.A. Jodie Kane (Chief of the Investigation Division).
The following members of the D.A.’s Office provided valuable assistance during the investigation: The Financial Frauds Bureau’s Victoria Grevenberg (Housing Coordinator), Sofia Albi (HTPU Analyst), Alfredo Luna (Analyst), Jessica Kemgne (Trial Preparation Assistant), Rebecca Singh (Discovery Analyst), Olivia Oyna (Admin); The Forensic Accounting & Financial Investigations Bureau’s Lisa Gillen (Supervising Forensic Account Investigator), Irene Serrapica (Principal Deputy Bureau Chief), and Robert Demarest (Bureau Chief); Investigation Bureau’s Luis Chuquiralao (Rackets Investigator), Miguel Pena (Assistant Supervising Rackets Investigator), Kyle Breen Rackets Investigator), Investigator Max Adler (Supervising Rackets Investigator), and Jonathan Reid (Chief).
D.A. Bragg thanked the Department of Investigation, Department of Buildings, and NYC Department of Finance for their assistance in the investigation.
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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.