Man Convicted Of Stealing BK House Claims City Is True Thief

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — A man convicted of stealing a Bed-Stuy brownstone is suing, from prison, the outfit he says is actually to blame: the city itself.

The ownership of a brownstone at 119 MacDonough St. stands at the center of lawsuit filed last week by Joesph McCray against New York City and a lineup of local justice system figures.

McCray, who is serving up to a 15-year sentence on larceny and forgery charges, claims the city illegitimately purchased what he claims is his property at a fraction of its $1.5 million value. He's also representing himself.

"The Plaintiff was caught in a web of conspirators, all with the intent of manipulating the Plaintiff of his rightful property at the fraction of the price," the lawsuit reads.

But McCray's claims of being cheated out of his property received a forceful response by the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, which had successfully prosecuted him in 2016.

McCray, according to their response, is the true deed thief.

"Deed fraud is a serious problem in Brooklyn and our Real Estate Fraud Unit vigorously investigates and prosecutes these crimes," a spokesperson said. "We will continue to hold forgers, scammers and thieves accountable, as we did in this case."

The New York City Law Department was not immediately available for comment.

In January 2015, Joseph McCray forged the signature of then-Brooklyn Civil Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Lewis on a court order that said he owned the brownstone, a news release from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said.

McCray then sold the house, a four-family building located at 119 MacDonough St., for $500,000 and made around $250,000 off of it, with the rest of the money covering outstanding liens.

McCray was convicted of larceny and forgery charges on Sept. 29, 2016, and the judge issued orders to remove his fake filings from the city's Property Records repository.

Prior to his arrest, McCray had been filing court orders falsely asserting ownership of the building for almost a decade, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office said. Evidence from his trial showed that McCray was a holdover tenant of the property when it was purchased by a woman in March 2000 from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

McCray never paid rent, the Brooklyn DA Office said, and was evicted in September 2002 but continued to reside in the building. In 2003 and 2004, he presented himself as the building's landlord and illegally collected rent, the District Attorney's Office said.