Disbarred attorney sentenced for role in Queens deed-theft ring

September 16, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks to the media, Nov. 6, 2023. Photo: Ted Shaffrey/AP

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Former attorney Anyekache Hercules has been sentenced to one-and-a-half to three years in prison for her involvement in a major deed theft operation that targeted vulnerable homeowners in Queens.

Attorney General Letitia James announced the sentencing on Friday following Hercules’ guilty plea to Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree in May. Hercules played a key role in a crew that stole and sold three homes in Jamaica and St. Albans, Queens, generating over $1 million in illegal profits from the sales.

“Deed theft schemes target vulnerable communities and steal families’ most valuable assets,” said Attorney General James. “Anyekache Hercules used her knowledge of the law to scam and steal from those in her community rather than protect them. She and her associates took advantage of elderly and vulnerable homeowners with their crimes, but today, we are making them pay for the harm they caused.”

Deed theft is a type of real estate fraud where criminals illegally transfer ownership of a property without the knowledge or consent of the rightful owner. This crime often targets vulnerable homeowners, such as elderly individuals, people with disabilities, or those who own distressed or vacant properties. Criminals use forged documents, fraudulent signatures, and even identity theft to claim ownership of a property and then sell it for profit.

The property at 112-39 176th St. in Queens, one of three homes targeted in a deed theft scheme orchestrated by disbarred attorney Anyekache Hercules and her co-conspirators, resulting in more than $1 million in illegal profits. Screenshot via Google Street View

This has been a growing issue in Brooklyn, where homeowners are particularly susceptible to deed theft because of the high value of property in the borough. Many long-time residents, especially in neighborhoods with older populations, might own their homes outright without a mortgage, making it easier for criminals to target them.

The operation, led by Marcus Wilcher, primarily targeted homes owned by elderly or disabled individuals or those in distressed conditions, where absentee owners were less likely to detect the fraudulent activity. Hercules, who had previously been disbarred, fraudulently assumed the identity of a practicing attorney to create forged legal documents necessary for the property transactions. In addition to Hercules and Wilcher, the group included former mortgage broker Stacie Saunders and co-conspirators Jerry Currin and Dean Lloyd.

The group found buyers for the stolen homes by marketing them well below market value to attract quick sales. Saunders played a pivotal role in selling the properties to investors, while Wilcher and Saunders orchestrated the use of imposters to pose as the real homeowners during contract signings and closings. After the sales were completed, the group opened fraudulent bank accounts using forged identification documents in the names of the rightful homeowners to funnel the profits from the sales.

Hercules, who had a prior conviction for deed theft in Brooklyn in 2019, was arrested alongside her co-conspirators in December 2022. Wilcher was sentenced in July 2024 to three to nine years in prison for stealing five homes. Currin and Lloyd both pleaded guilty to felony counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, while Saunders is awaiting trial.

As part of her ongoing efforts to combat housing-related fraud, Attorney General James launched the Protect Our Homes initiative in 2020, which formed an interagency law enforcement task force aimed at responding to deed theft and real estate fraud. Her office has also secured grants, including an $800,000 award in 2021, to aid vulnerable neighborhoods that are frequently targeted by these schemes.