Man Pleads Guilty To Astoria, LIC Real Estate Scheme: Feds

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A 57-year-old man pleaded guilty to defrauding members of the Bengali community in Queens in a real estate investment scheme that started in 2015, prosecutors said.

Rashidun Bokhari, from Astoria, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to defrauding three people of more than $1 million between 2015 and 2022 in a real estate investment scheme, said Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

He’s expected to be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, Peace said.

Bokhari tricked one person into investing about $935,000 in four different real estate properties located in Long Island City and Astoria between September 2015 and April 2018 in exchange for a supposed 50 percent ownership in the properties, prosecutors said.

The 57-year-old fabricated real estate transaction documents and gave them to the investor, but Bokhari was instead using the money to send funds overseas, make mortgage and life insurance payments, and other activities, Peace said.

The Astoria man defrauded two other people of $191,100 between December 2020 and May 2022, prosecutors said.

Bohkari agreed to pay all three people restitution, Peace said.

“Bokhari’s victims are of Bengali descent and he exploited their shared ethnic background in furtherance of his schemes,” said a statement by the U.S. attorney.

Anyone who believes they are a victim of a crime committed by Bokhari is asked
to contact the United States Attorney’s Office here.