帝國大廈 90分鐘偷走

帝國大廈 90分鐘偷走

【聯合報╱編譯田思怡／報導】 2008.12.05 04:04 am

紐約「每日新聞」報仿照詐騙集團手法，偽造文件，輕易取得紐約帝國大廈產權。圖為高443.2公尺的帝國大廈，是紐約地標。 （法新社） 紐約「每日新聞」日報為凸顯美國地產登記法規鬆散疏於查證，於是假造了一批文件，只花了不到90分鐘，就把價值20億美元的紐約地標「帝國大廈」產權轉移到一家虛設公司名下。 如果此事是刻意犯案的歹徒所為，將是美國史上最大詐騙案之一。 每日新聞在自家網站上報導了這個消息，報導說，該報偽造了一批文件，並假造公證人的印鑑，向市政府登記處辦理房地產產權變更，輕易偷走102層樓高的帝國大廈。 在每日新聞的偽造文件中，故意使用一些十分荒唐可笑的資料：「金剛」原版電影女主角費伊蕾（Fay Wray）是證人，公證人的名字是知名銀行搶匪威利．蘇頓（Willie Sutton）。結果承辦官員完全不查，照樣過關。 這件詐騙案暴露了紐約地產登記處法律機制漏洞百出，竟然不要求承辦人員查證資料。 每日新聞的「詐騙集團」本月1日遞交偽造文件後，不到90分鐘，地產登記處就蓋章，把帝國大廈的產權從紐約州土地聯盟，轉到「竊盜地產公司」（Nelots Properties LLC）名下。這個公司名字也是假造的，把Nelots倒過來拼，就是stolen（失竊）。 每日新聞隔天就主動把帝國大廈歸還原主。 辦過幾件契約轉讓詐騙案的布魯克林區助理地區檢察官法瑞爾說：「哪裡弄得到錢，哪裡就有歹徒。威利．蘇頓搶銀行為的就是弄錢，房契轉讓詐騙是新型態的銀行搶案。」 沙瑞爾說：「騙徒一旦拿到房契轉讓文件，就可以辦貸款。」很多騙子就在辦了巨額貸款後，捲款而逃，留下爛攤子給真正的屋主、銀行和承辦的公務員。 在美國，歹徒想用這招詐財似乎非常容易，案例不勝枚舉。22歲的艾夏兒．史密斯由88歲的祖母一手帶大，卻偷了祖母位在紐約皇后區春田花園大廈住處的房契，貸款44萬5千美元後遠走高飛。她去年被捕，以詐欺罪服刑一年。 另外一名騙徒把已過世19年的屋主的房產過戶給自己，貸款53萬3千美元，從此不見人影。 這些都不夠看。10年前，達希維克偷走市政府名下的7棟荒廢建築。他取得修繕許可，裝修了其中一棟，當成公寓出租。他並以25萬美元賣掉另一棟，招搖闖騙2年才被捕，把地產還給政府，並吃了18個月牢飯。 美國去年的房貸詐騙案激增31%，貸款銀行總共損失了8億1300萬美元，紐約州名列這類詐騙案最多的前十名。 【2008/12/05 聯合報】 It took 90 minutes for Daily News to 'steal' the Empire State Building BY WILLIAM SHERMAN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Tuesday, December 2nd 2008, 10:46 PM Egan-Chin/News Daily News reporter William Sherman in front of the Empire State Building. In one of the biggest heists in American history, the Daily News "stole" the $2 billion Empire State Building. And it wasn't that hard. The News swiped the 102-story Art Deco skyscraper by drawing up a batch of bogus documents, making a fake notary stamp and filing paperwork with the city to transfer the deed to the property. Some of the information was laughable: Original "King Kong" star Fay Wray is listed as a witness and the notary shared a name with bank robber Willie Sutton. The massive ripoff illustrates a gaping loophole in the city's system for recording deeds, mortgages and other transactions. The loophole: The system - run by the office of the city register - doesn't require clerks to verify the information. Less than 90 minutes after the bogus documents were submitted on Monday, the agency rubber-stamped the transfer from Empire State Land Associates to Nelots Properties LLC. Nelots is "stolen" spelled backward. (The News returned the property Tuesday.) "Crooks go where the money is. That's why Willie Sutton robbed banks, and this is the new bank robbery," said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Richard Farrell, who is prosecuting several deed fraud cases. Of course, stealing the Empire State Building wouldn't go unnoticed for long, but it shows how easy it is for con artists to swipe more modest buildings right out from under their owners. Armed with a fraudulent deed, they can take out big mortgages and disappear, leaving a mess for property owners, banks and bureaucrats. "Once you have the deed, it's easy to obtain a mortgage," Farrell said. Many crooks have done just that: - Asia Smith stole her 88-year-old grandmother's house in Springfield Gardens, Queens, pocketing $445,000 in mortgages she took out. "Her grandmother raised her," said Queens Assistant District Attorney Kristen Kane. Smith, 22, was arrested last December and is serving a one-year jail term for fraud. - A man posing as someone who had been dead for 19 years deeded the dead man's property to himself. He then sold it to the scheme's mastermind, who took out a $533,000 mortgage and vanished with the cash. - Toma Dushevic managed to steal seven dilapidated city-owned buildings in Brooklyn 10 years ago. He got renovation permits, fixed up one of the buildings, and rented out apartments. He sold another building for $250,000 and ran his scam for nearly two years until he was caught. Dushevic returned the buildings and did 18 months behind bars. The FBI says financial institutions filed 31% more Suspicious Activity Reports involving mortgage fraud last year than in 2006. Nationwide, lenders' losses totaled $813 million, and New York was one of the top 10 mortgage fraud states. In the city, deeds accepted by the register's office are recorded on that agency's Web site, where they are easily viewed and are the basis for mortgage transactions. The News investigation disclosed that mortgage brokers, representatives of title companies, lending banks, lawyers and others in the mortgage process often failed to verify identification and other information provided by the thieves. Unlike the city employees, the brokers and others should check mortgagors' information, their professional trade associations say. In one Queens deed fraud case, a mortgage broker and title company representative are accused of taking part in the scam. They are charged with helping obtain $1.4 million in mortgages from two of the biggest banks in the city on behalf of the scammer, who has vanished. In all cases The News reviewed, the city register's office accepted and recorded the fraudulent mortgages. Unlike the thieves, The News did not obtain a mortgage on the Empire State Building. Instead, The News returned the property to its rightful owners Tuesday - less than 24 hours after the fake deed was filed. The News also is withholding key details of how the scam works. Real thieves get the mortgage cash, ripping off banks and leaving the properties' owners with mortgage debt and ruined credit. "Mortgages stay with properties," Farrell explained. When the victims don't pay the mortgages they didn't take out, lending banks foreclose on the properties. A major tool thieves use is the notary stamp on documents, one item city employees check. "They don't check to see if it's real, but they do check to see if it's there," said a lawyer familiar with the system. The stamps are easy to get and cost about $30. National mortgage broker and title company trade associations said their members try to verify identification but can be fooled by clever hustlers. "We know you can forge driver's licenses," said Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers. "Every time the industry finds out measures to stop fraud, the thieves always get one up on us." Anne Anastasi, a member of the board of governors of the American Land Title Association, said, "There are people who are very good at this and it's hard to stop." Source: NYDailyNews.com