2 charged with theft of home sale proceeds

An Oakdale real estate investor has been indicted on charges of a role in stealing $65,259 in proceeds from the sale of a Queens Village couple's home, prosecutors said.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Jose Toral, 28, of Vanderbilt Boulevard, was arraigned Friday on seven counts of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and falsifying business records.

Toral and Thomas Zacharia, 38, an attorney from Staten Island, convinced the couple that proceeds from the sale could be used to pay off their debts and improve their credit rating, Brown said.

Both men face the same charges, with Zacharia also charged with fourth-degree criminal facilitation. If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.

The couple were assured that the title to their home would be returned to them after one year, Brown said.

Toral and Zacharia instead arranged for only a portion of the homeowners' debts to be paid off while they pocketed a "major portion" of the proceeds from the home sale, according to the Queens grand jury indictment. The property eventually went into mortgage default, Brown said.

Prosecutors said the crimes occurred between May 2007 and March 2008.

Toral was ordered held on $5,000 bail and has another court appearance scheduled for March 19. Zacharia was released on his own recognizance and ordered back to court on April 20.

Zacharia's attorney, Stuart Tarshis of Forest Hills, said yesterday that his client denies doing anything illegal. "I don't believe from the facts in this case that he did anything wrong at all," Tarshis said. Toral's attorney could not be reached for comment.