Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that Wing Fung Chau, 53, of Bayside, Queens, has been arraigned 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.
Chau allegedly created false documents to cheat his fellow shareholders by selling a joint property without their knowledge or consent.
The defendant was ordered held on bail of $10,000 cash or $100,000 bond and to return to court on June 4, 2025.
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.”
According to the investigation, 37-19 Realty Inc. is a corporation that 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.
On Sept. 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 believed, the defendant negotiated with a 53-year-old man to sell 37-19 Realty’s interest in the property for approximately $7.2 million in 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 Nov. 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 them within eight months of the closing. None of the funds went to the corporation’s president. The investigation began after the president’s attorney contacted the D.A.’s office.
Gonzalez thanked the KCDA Detective Investigators for their assistance in the case.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kevin Zhen of the District Attorney’s Investigations Division under the supervision of The Chief of the Real Estate Frauds Unit and Assistant DA Richard Farrell, Chief of the Frauds Bureau Assistant DA Gregory Pavlides, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division Assistant DA Michel Spanakos and the overall supervision of Chief of the Investigations Division Assistant DA Patricia McNeill.
