A former mortgage broker has been convicted for her role in a scheme that stole homes from elderly and disabled New Yorkers in Queens, Attorney General Letitia James announced this week.
After a two-week trial, a jury found Stacie Saunders guilty on all 18 criminal counts, including grand larceny, forgery, and money laundering. Saunders was part of a deed theft ring that fraudulently sold three homes in Jamaica and St. Albans, Queens, without the knowledge of their rightful owners—yielding over $1 million in illegal proceeds.
“Deed theft is a heartless crime that targets the most valuable assets in vulnerable communities,” said Attorney General James. “With the conviction of Stacie Saunders, my office is proud to have secured justice for the elderly New Yorkers that Saunders and her co-conspirators targeted with their predatory scheme.”
Saunders, a licensed real estate salesperson and former branch manager at a mortgage bank, was the last of five individuals to be convicted in the deed theft operation. The ring was led by Marcus Wilcher and included disbarred attorney Anyekache Hercules, Jerry Currin, and Dean Lloyd. Wilcher identified vacant or distressed homes with absentee owners, and Hercules created forged legal documents. Saunders then marketed the stolen properties to investors at cut-rate prices.
Once buyers showed interest, Wilcher obtained personal information of the true owners—such as Social Security numbers and birth dates—to create falsified documents and recruit impostors to pose as the owners during closings. Saunders arranged for attorneys, scheduled the closings, and facilitated the fraudulent sales.
The defendants then opened bank accounts in the names of the actual owners and used shell companies to launder the stolen money.
Saunders was found guilty of multiple felonies:
- 3 counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree
- 2 counts of Attempted Grand Larceny in the Second Degree
- 1 count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree
- 5 counts of Money Laundering in the Second Degree
- 2 counts of Forgery in the Second Degree
- 3 counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree
- 2 counts of Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree
She faces up to five to 15 years in prison on the top count, with the possibility of consecutive sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for June 11 before Judge Leigh Cheng.
The case follows a broader effort by Attorney General James to crack down on deed theft and housing fraud. All four co-defendants previously pleaded guilty. Wilcher was sentenced in July to up to nine years in prison. Hercules, previously convicted in a separate fraud case, received up to three years. Currin and Lloyd pleaded guilty to filing false instruments.
This latest conviction builds on a string of recent enforcement actions by James’ office, including indictments in February against two individuals accused of stealing a home from an elderly Queens resident, and a high-profile win in September after a court rejected a motion to dismiss in another deed theft case.
The investigation was led by Detective Supervisor Anna Ospanova and the OAG’s Major Investigations Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Nicholas Kyriacou and Aida Vernon of the Public Integrity Bureau, with support from forensic auditors and analysts.
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