BRONX MAN SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN PRISON FOR SCAMMING PROSPECTIVE APARTMENT RENTERS OUT OF $80,000

 

Defendant Posed as a Real Estate Broker

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man was sentenced to four years in prison for Attempted Burglary and Scheme to Defraud, as part of a months-long scheme, in which, posing as a real estate broker, he scammed 18 prospective renters out of $80,000. 

District Attorney Clark said, “This defendant acting out of pure greed pretended to be a real estate broker, showing vacant apartments to people looking to rent. He was not authorized to show these properties and took approximately $80,000 from the victims who believed the money they were giving him was for application fees, security deposits and rent. With this sentence, justice has been served.” 

District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Juan Valoy, 47, of the Bronx, was sentenced today to four years in prison by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Darlene Goldberg. On July 2, Valoy pleaded guilty to two counts of Attempted Burglary in the second-degree and two counts of firstdegree Scheme to Defraud. 

According to the investigation, from late 2023 until February 2025, Valoy posed as a real estate broker and advertised his fraudulent services through Facebook Marketplace and thirdparty referrals. After establishing contact with the prospective renters, the defendant arranged tours via video or in person of newly renovated apartments. Valoy then accepted thousands of dollars in payments from victims, often in cashier’s checks payable to Milian Services Corp., a business registered to Valoy, for what he claimed were application fees, security deposits and first months’ rent. The defendant did not own these properties and did not have permission from the actual owners to enter or show them.

In one case, the victim had to leave his young daughters and return to Florida because he lost his remaining money to the defendant for an apartment he was attempting to rent to reunite his family. 

In another instance, the defendant told a 10-year-old boy in front of his mother that the apartment they were viewing on a day that happened to be the child’s birthday would be his birthday present. The woman promptly went to the bank so she could pay Valoy. When the young family tried to move into the Bronx apartment that she believed she had rented from Valoy, she learned that it was already occupied. 

District Attorney Clark thanked the NYPD Bronx Grand Larceny Squad and Detective Ivellis Flores their work in the investigation.