An organized ring of lawyers, real estate brokers and members of Councilmember Darlene Mealy’s family crafted an elaborate deed theft scheme, posing as heirs of the deceased owner of a Harlem brownstone to obtain more than $1.6 million in fraudulent bank loans, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged Thursday.
Bragg announced charges against 18 people and three shell companies. The defendants include four members of the Mealy clan — Joseph Mealy, Jacob Mealy, Mathew Tyreek Mealy and Anita (Mealy) Davis — who allegedly joined with other conspirators to pose as heirs to Okryun Marrero, the deceased owner of a four-bedroom, 2,888 square foot brownstone on West 131st St. that’s currently listing for $2 million.
“Eighteen individuals went to extreme lengths to exploit a grieving family by allegedly conspiring to sell the family’s brownstone without their permission and fraudulently obtain a mortgage for profit,” Bragg said in a statement, announcing the work of his Housing and Tenant Protection Unit.
According to the indictment, the Mealy family members and others completed a fraudulent transfer of the deed, claimed ownership of the property, then “sold” it to a fellow-conspirator for $950,000.
That co-conspirator then assigned his contract rights to another defendant for $1.5 million — the same day. Those sales never actually took place, but the conspirators then used the property as collateral to obtain a mortgage and a construction loan that the defendants funneled into accounts they controlled, prosecutors allege.
At an afternoon press conference, Bragg characterized deed theft as “pernicious fraud that targets the most vulnerable population — older adults.” Regarding the City Council member’s relatives, he said: “My understanding is that there is a relation there. We focus on them for their conduct in this case. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”
Councilmember Mealy, a Brooklyn Democrat whose district includes includes Brownsville, Bushwick, Crown Heights, East Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Gardens, wasn’t charged. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges include first-degree grand larceny, fourth-degree conspiracy and first-degree possession of stolen property. The defendants were expected to be arraigned in Manhattan criminal court late Thursday.
Three of the defendants were originally charged in October, but the DA’s office continued to investigate and discovered what officials described as a wide-ranging conspiracy that involved a dozen more players.
Councilmember Darlene Mealy (D-Brooklyn) speaks at the first full City Hall meeting of the year, Jan. 7, 2026. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
The defendants even allegedly staged an in-person closing, with conspirators who were lawyers “representing” both the seller and buyer in the bogus transaction and another posing as a real estate broker for the buyer, even though he didn’t have a broker’s license, prosecutors said.
Last month Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched a new office to combat deed theft following reporting by THE CITY and others on recent scams.
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