FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 25, 2025
Queens Man Indicted for Alleged $7 Million Deed Fraud Theft
Defendant Allegedly Sold Sunset Park Property by Forging Documents
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Queens resident has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with grand larceny and falsifying business records for allegedly creating false documents to cheat his fellow shareholders by selling a joint property without their knowledge or consent.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly attempted to steal approximately $7 million using forged documents and false filings. As real estate values continue to rise dramatically in Brooklyn, I remain committed to protecting property owners across the borough from fraudsters who would steal their security and investment in the future.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Wing Fung Chau, 53, of Bayside, Queens. The defendant was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Warin on an indictment in which he is charged with two counts of first-degree grand larceny and three counts of first-degree falsifying business records. The defendant was ordered held on bail of $10,000 cash or $100,000 bond and to return to court on June 4, 2025.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, 37-19 Realty Inc. is a corporation which owns a 25% interest in 6208 8th Avenue, a large parcel of land in Sunset Park. The defendant is one of three shareholders in the corporation. Another shareholder, a 56-year-old woman is the President of the corporation. The defendant and the President are entitled to 36% of the corporation’s income. A third shareholder is entitled to the balance.
It is alleged that, according to the investigation, on September 28, 2021, the defendant signed a memorandum of contract to sell 37-19 Realty’s interest in 6208 8th Avenue to a different 56-year-old woman and filed the contract with the City Register.
Shortly thereafter, it is alleged, the defendant negotiated with a 53-year-old man to sell 37-19 Realty’s interest in the property for approximately $7.2 million cash, with the buyer and his associates assuming various existing mortgage obligations. Before closing, the buyer required, among other things, proof from the defendant that the President of the corporation agreed to sell her interest and that the 56-year-old woman no longer had a contract to buy 37-19 Realty’s interest in the property. The buyer also requested a letter from the corporation’s accountant regarding its tax filings.
At the closing on November 18, 2021, only the defendant appeared on behalf of 37-19 Realty. He allegedly provided several forged documents: one with the President’s forged signature agreeing to the sale, one with the 56-year-old woman’s forged signature stating she was terminating her contract, and one with the forged signature of the accountant falsely claiming the corporation did not file taxes in 2019 and 2020.
The defendant allegedly had the proceeds of the sale transferred to bank accounts that only he controlled, withdrawing almost all of it within eight months of the closing. None of the funds went to the President of the corporation. The investigation began after the President’s attorney contacted the District Attorney’s office.
The District Attorney thanked KCDA Detective Investigators for their assistance on the case.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kevin Zhen, of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Richard Farrell, Chief of the Real Estate Frauds Unit, Assistant District Attorney Gregory Pavlides, Chief of the Frauds Bureau, Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of the Investigations Division.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.