We are so close to Thanksgiving that I want to write about why I’m grateful… happy that my head is still above the water in today’s real estate market, grateful that my family will be together to share a wonderful meal, thankful that my friend just had her 8 pound, 5 ounce bouncing baby boy and that they’re both healthy. Instead, I read in the paper about this poor 93-year old Long Island man with Alzheimer’s disease had his home stolen by a couple of swindlers.
Rebecca Tharpe posed as a legitimate buyer for the home of Artee McKoy, a retired barber with diminished mental capacity, and forged his signature on a sales contract. The contract was used to obtain a mortgage on the property. Tharpe then sold the house for $395,000 and pocketed $102,000. Tharpe’s accomplice, Alexandra Gilmore, received more than $200,000 in proceeds, including a $97,000 check that had been made payable to McKoy and an additional $130,000 which she secured by setting up a real estate company and falsely claiming to have been owed the money from a previous mortgage loan on the property.
The house is now in foreclosure because - obviously - the loan payoff wasn’t made and payments ceased. What’s worse? The crook is serving 30 days in jail and five years probation, with the added punishment of having to speak publicly about mortgage fraud. To help other people avoid it. I didn’t read anywhere that she has to repay the money stolen, but with a light sentence like that I hope she will. Dang.
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