Jamaica Man Stole $50K House From 101-Year-Old Neighbor: DA

JAMAICA, QUEENS -- A Jamaica man is accused of conning a trusting 101-year-old neighbor out of his $50,000 house, prosecutors said.

Ricardo Bentham, 58, was arraigned Thursday for allegedly filing a fake deed to transfer ownership of the home on 143rd Street from his neighbor, Woodrow Washington, to himself in October 2017, said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

“This is a particularly troublesome case," Brown said. "The defendant was supposedly assisting his centenarian neighbor collect rent from his tenants, but in actuality the helper is alleged to have duped the old man into signing away his home."

Bentham allegedly submitted a deed to the city bearing Washington's signature to transfer the home - worth more than $50,000 - into his name for $0 on Oct. 7, 2018, according to the criminal complaint.

Washington acknowledged the signature was his, but said he didn't realize he was signing anything away until he received a letter from the Department of Finance informing him that the deed to his home was now under Bentham's name, the complaint states.

Despite the deed bearing a notary's signature, Washington said he never signed any such documents in front of one, according to the complaint.

His claim was backed by fellow neighbor Theodore White, a 93-year-old notary who Washington trusted to sign off on documents Bentham brought before him, prosecutors said. White confirmed to detectives that his signature on this dead was missing a notary seal.

Washington said he remembered Bentham at times bringing blank documents to his house for him to sign, the complaint states.

Bentham was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of a forged instrument and offering a false instrument for filing. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to return to court on Aug. 21.

If convicted, Bentham faces up to 15 years in prison.

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