They searched for properties in Jamaica and St. Albans, Queens with absentee owners. Saunders would then sell these homes to investors at prices well below market value to ensure quick sales. Once an investor showed interest, Wilcher would gather personal information from the real owners to create fake identification documents
The Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, announced Marcus Wilcher, the mastermind behind a Queens deed theft operation, has been convicted and sentenced. Wilcher and his associates targeted homes in Jamaica and St. Albans, Queens, belonging to elderly or disabled New Yorkers or their estates.
They illegally sold three properties, raking in over $1 million in profits. Wilcher admitted to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree on May 23, 2024, and has now been handed a three to nine-year prison sentence for his involvement in the scheme and for stealing two more properties in Queens.
“New Yorkers should never have to fear losing their homes to deceitful schemes like deed theft,” said Attorney General James. “Marcus Wilcher and his associates targeted elderly and vulnerable New Yorkers with a predatory scheme that inflicted significant financial and emotional harm. New Yorkers work their entire lives to secure a home, and deed theft threatens to rob them of the generational wealth they have built for their families. I am proud of my office’s work to put a stop to this fraud displacing our most vulnerable communities, and I will continue working to keep New Yorkers safe and secure in their homes.”
Wilcher and his team, along with disbarred attorney Anyekache Hercules, former mortgage broker Stacie Saunders, and co-conspirators Jerry Currin and Dean Lloyd, focused on targeting distressed homes owned by elderly or vulnerable individuals.
They searched for properties in Jamaica and St. Albans, Queens with absentee owners. Saunders would then sell these homes to investors at prices well below market value to ensure quick sales. Once an investor showed interest, Wilcher would gather personal information from the real owners to create fake identification documents. They would then hire individuals to impersonate the property owners during contract signings and closings.
The team split the profits from the sales, totaling more than $1 million for three properties, and cheated the rightful owners out of their share. They also funneled the illegal gains through corporate entities and out-of-state banks to conceal the stolen money. Wilcher pocketed the biggest portion from the sales, moving more than $500,000 into his personal bank accounts.
In December of 2022, Attorney General James revealed that Wilcher, Saunders, Hercules, Currin, and Lloyd had been arrested and indicted. Wilcher was apprehended in Georgia thanks to a joint operation involving the OAG, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations, and Georgia’s Attorney General’s Office. Fast forward to May 23, 2024, Wilcher stood before Supreme Court Judge Leigh Cheng in Queens County and admitted guilt to the primary charge of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree for the theft of three Queens residences as outlined in the December 2022 indictment.
Following the indictment, the OAG discovered two additional cases of home theft carried out by Wilcher, both in Queens. Wilcher deceptively acquired the properties by using fake sellers and then proceeded to launder the profits from the sales, mirroring the method he used with his deed theft ring.
The OAG pressed separate charges against Wilcher for one of the thefts, while the Queens District Attorney pursued charges for the other. Wilcher was found guilty of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and received a three to nine-year prison sentence for stealing the five homes.
Wilcher’s partner in crime, Anyekache Hercules, who had previously been found guilty of theft in Kings County, pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree. Hercules is expected to be sentenced to one and a half to three years in prison in September. Jerry Currin and Dean Lloyd admitted to felony charges of Filing a False Instrument in the First Degree. Stacie Saunders is awaiting trial and is considered innocent until proven guilty.
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