In 2003, brothers bought Queens home for $850K; after convictions, it heads to auction at $900K (Image Credit: CWS Government Auctions)
A Forest Hills home in Queens that was once owned by two brothers convicted in a major counterfeiting case is now headed for a federal auction, more than two decades after they bought it for $850,000. The five-bedroom property at 110-37 69th Ave. is scheduled to be sold online on October 23, with bidding starting at $900,000, according to the US Treasury Department ‘s auction listing. The 3,572-square-foot house became entangled in federal forfeiture proceedings as authorities pursued the brothers’ involvement in a racketeering conspiracy involving counterfeit US currency and money structuring. More than 20 years after the brothers purchased it, the property is being offered at a starting price only $50,000 above what they originally paid.
But the house’s journey from a family residence to a federally auctioned property is tied to a much larger criminal case.
The property had another complicated legal history
A federal district court found that money used to pay off the property’s mortgage and home-equity lines of credit in 2012 came from a separate scheme in which the brothers allegedly defrauded a jewellery customer of $1 million, according to the Fourth Circuit. The government had already initiated civil-forfeiture proceedings involving the Forest Hills home and another property in 2009. That earlier case was dismissed in 2011 after the brothers and their sister, Ilana Bangiyeva, agreed to a $662,500 settlement. The US Treasury Department is scheduled to conduct the online auction on October 23. Bidding will begin at $900,000, and prospective bidders must provide a $150,000 deposit to participate. Public inspections are scheduled for October 11 and October 18 before the auction. For a home that was purchased for $850,000 in 2003, the $900,000 starting bid may appear modest compared with its current market value.
The home’s legal problems did not end with the counterfeiting case. The appellate court noted that this alleged fraud was separate from the RICO conspiracy for which the brothers were later convicted. Ownership then became the subject of another legal fight following the brothers’ convictions. The long legal battle has now brought the Forest Hills property to the auction block. The property is being sold “as is. But the price also reflects the unusual history attached to the property and the complicated legal proceedings that have surrounded it for years.