Five indicted in Queens mortgage scheme targeting homeowners
Tony Wanyiu Cheng, 56, a licensed real estate broker from Bayside, allegedly organized the scheme and was present at the closing alongside Chun Kong Lau, 46, of Staten Island.
“The defendants stole the identities of husband-and-wife homeowners, impersonated them at a closing and used fraudulent drivers’ licenses and Social Security cards to take out a mortgage on the victims’ home,” DA Katz said.
“The scheme saddled the victims with a mortgage they did not authorize and allegedly cost a Queens lender more than $688,000.”
How the money moved
The day after closing, Lau and Qiang Li, 59, of Flushing — using a fake Maryland driver’s license bearing the male victim’s date of birth — opened a joint account at the South Flushing branch of TD Bank.
More than $269,000 was subsequently routed into Cheng’s personal and business accounts, which were held through three entities: CB Direct Store Inc., YW Capital LLC, and MTR Development Co. LLC.
