A Kings Point man has been convicted of stealing two Harlem brownstones worth a combined $4.7 million in a years-long deed theft scheme that left one elderly homeowner living in a homeless shelter while he collected rent from the property.
A jury found Joseph Makhani, 63, guilty Wednesday after a seven-week trial of two counts of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree and one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, according to the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
Makhani was immediately remanded into custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28, 2026, before New York State Supreme Court Judge Michele Rodney. He faces a maximum sentence of 8⅓ to 25 years in prison on the top count.
Prosecutors said Makhani used fraudulent deeds, forged documents and shell companies beginning in 2012 to take control of two Harlem brownstones located at 107 West 118th Street and 135 West 131st Street.
According to trial evidence, Makhani falsely claimed to have purchased the West 118th Street property for just $10 through a corporation he controlled before later stating on a mortgage application that he had paid $975,000 for the building. Prosecutors said he obtained a $650,000 construction loan, later refinanced the property with a $1.2 million mortgage, and submitted a forged application to convert the building into market-rate apartments.
From 2016 through 2023, prosecutors said Makhani rented out the apartments for as much as $3,400 per month, collecting more than $12,000 in monthly rental income while the property’s rightful elderly owner received nothing and was forced to live in a homeless shelter. The brownstone was valued at approximately $2.9 million in 2023.
The jury also found Makhani illegally took possession of a second Harlem brownstone at 135 West 131st Street.
According to prosecutors, Makhani falsely represented himself as the building’s new owner to one of the tenants and obtained the tenant’s signature under the pretense of offering employment. Authorities said he then filed a fraudulent deed identifying the tenant as the property’s owner and transferred the building to a company he controlled.
When questions arose during eviction proceedings over the property’s ownership, prosecutors said Makhani filed another fraudulent deed claiming heirs of the last recorded owner had transferred the building to his company.
That property was valued at approximately $1.8 million in 2018.
Attorney General Letitia James said the conviction demonstrates that deed theft cases will continue to be aggressively prosecuted.
“Joseph Makhani maliciously targeted an elderly homeowner and shamelessly attempted to evict long-time tenants in a heartless scheme to steal two homes that never belonged to him in the first place,” James said. “Today’s conviction should serve as a warning to all deed thieves: my office will hold you accountable to the full extent of the law.”
The Attorney General’s Office said the investigation included assistance from the New York State Police, the New York City Sheriff’s Office and several New York City agencies.
