You are reading

Flushing Man Bilks Jackson Heights Apartment Seekers Out of Thousands

iStock

June 1, 2021 By Christian Murray

A Flushing con-man who posed as a real estate agent pleaded guilty last week to grand larceny charges for stealing more than $50,000 from apartment seekers, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.

Cesar Fernandez-Loor, 38, advertised apartments for rent in Jackson Heights and then required his victims to fork over a deposit in order to move in. Many of his victims, immigrants living in the area, paid a deposit yet never heard from him again.

“The victims were looking for a place to call home,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “Sadly, they crossed paths with a con artist determined to enrich himself at their expense.”

Katz said that Fernandez-Loor will be required to pay his victims back, or he will face prison time of 2 1/3 to 7 years. More than a dozen people were bilked by the scam.

Fernandez-Loor, according to court records, advertised the apartments and then scheduled appointments to meet in person.

He presented himself as a real estate agent for ACT Realty Corp., a Jackson Heights firm, and then showed the apartments—before requiring his victims to pay a security deposit. He defrauded multiple victims, with them turning over between $1,300 and $7,000 each in the belief that they had secured a place to live.

None of the would-be renters were able to move in and he cut off all communication with many of them. He did write refund checks to some of the victims, which bounced.

The scam took place between December 2017 and February 2020, according to Katz.

Investigators were made aware of the scam following a news story by Univision Channel 41 highlight complaints from victims, which mentioned ACT Realty.

 

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens Distance Runners mark 10 years with milestone marathon at Flushing Meadows

Apr. 24, 2025 By Paulina Albarracin

Runners filled the paths of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on March 30 for the Queens Marathon, joined by the QDR Half Marathon and 10K events. Since its inception, the Queens Marathon has done more than test endurance—it has celebrated the borough’s diverse communities and encouraged participants to support local businesses and organizations. This year marked a special milestone as the flagship event of Queens Distance Runners (QDR) celebrated its 10th anniversary, reaffirming its place as Queens’ premier race experience and igniting excitement across the scenic park grounds.

“We don’t know who we can trust”: Advocates push for New York For All Act to shield immigrants from ICE enforcement

Apr. 24, 2025 By Jimmy Robles

As deportations keep growing in the communities of New York, the fight to protect the immigrant community from immigration enforcement agencies such as ICE is urging. Even residents with no criminal history or legal status in the United States have become at risk of deportation, causing them to live with constant fear of being separated from their families.

Dirt bike thief strikes twice in Queens, targeting sellers in Fresh Meadows and Corona: NYPD

Police from the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows are looking for a suspect who set up a meeting with a 24-year-old man at a BP gas station at 73-15 Parson Blvd. at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, to buy the victim’s dirt bike.

The two men rode together for a test drive, and when they returned to the Fresh Meadows gas station, the perpetrator pushed the victim off his dirt bike and rode off in an unknown direction, police said Wednesday. The man who was robbed was not injured during the encounter.