Christopher Cable, Queens Village man arrested in $200,000 real estate scam, says Nassau DA

A Queens Village man was arraigned Thursday on charges that he stole more than $200,000 in a real estate scam, using fraudulent documents to claim he was authorized to sell a Brooklyn property he didn’t own, authorities said.

Christopher Cable, 39, faces charges of grand larceny and three counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument.

His bail was set at $100,000 bond or $75,000 cash, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

Cable could face up to 15 years in prison on the top charge.

This is not the first time authorities say he was involved in such a crime: Cable and two others were sentenced to state prison Sept. 28 after pleading guilty to stealing the identity of a Manhattan property owner and accepting a $525,000 check for the sale of her brownstone at 79 W. 118th St.

Cable pleaded guilty to eight counts in the case, including grand larceny in the first degree. He was sentenced to three to nine years in state prison.

In the Nassau case, the DA’s office said Cable used forged documents at a real estate closing in Syosset, saying that he was the head of a corporation called New York RE LLC.

Officials say he falsely claimed legal authority to sell its property at 739 Hemlock Ave., Brooklyn, with a sale price of $225,000.

Authorities say Cable received $213,394.86 in proceeds, that he opened an account at Capital One Bank in Great Neck on April 2, 2014, using forged documents stating he was the company’s director. They said Cable then deposited $178,394 from the sale of the property into the account and began spending the money.

Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, which insured the closing, paid a $225,000 claim to the duped buyer.

“Real estate scams are always evolving and perpetrators are using new and inventive ways to defraud homeowners in Nassau County and around the state,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “I encourage anyone who thinks they have been a victim of a real estate crime to contact my office through our 24-hour tip line.”

In the earlier case, prosecuted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, Cable and several others were accused of orchestrating a scheme targeting vacant, rundown properties not occupied by their owners.

Cable and his co-conspirators were accused of forging personal identification and real estate documents in order to steal the identity of the owner, hire a lawyer and sell the property. The profits were deposited into a fraudulently established bank account.

Assistant District Attorney Peter Mancuso of DA Singas’ Government and Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case. Cable was represented Thursday in court by Legal Aid.