Cops: North Valley Stream man arrested in $150,000 real estate fraud

A North Valley Stream man faces charges after, police said, he swindled two female victims out of more than $150,000 in a real estate fraud going back seven years.

Nassau County police said the victims, from Freeport, brought the mortgage fraud complaint against real estate agent Rickie Roberts on Aug. 24, 2015. Following an investigation by the police Fraud and Forgery Unit and the state Department of Financial Services, Roberts, 58, of 982 N. Bowe Rd., surrendered Tuesday and was charged with second-degree grand larceny and third-degree grand larceny, police said.

He was held Wednesday on $10,000 bond or cash at his arraignment at First District Court in Hempstead, online records show. 

It was not immediately clear why it took investigators four years to arrest Roberts. It also was not clear if Roberts was represented by counsel.

Police said the victims, then age 63 and 26, stated in the 2015 complaint that Roberts had showed them "multiple properties" during a three-year span. During that time they had given Roberts "multiple cashier's checks" totaling more than $150,000 in a good-faith move to cover "banking fees and down payments" but no real estate deal went forward.

Police did not identify the women or provide additional information about them.

Detectives are asking anyone who thinks they've been a victim of a similar crime to call 911 or their local precinct.

All calls will remain confidential.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”