Former President of LI Firm Sentenced for Real Estate Scheme

The former president of a real estate services company was sentenced Monday to four years in prison for two cases of real estate fraud.

While serving as president of Home Free Realty Inc., Elviston Ramasir, of Manorville, was accused of stealing $1.5 million from an investor and for forbidding renters to live in the apartments while keeping their money. He pleaded guilty to both charges in January.

The company had offices in East Meadow and Farmingdale.

In addition to the prison term, Ramasir faces three years of supervised release and will have to pay more than $1.4 million in restitution. He agreed to forfeit illegal cash proceeds as well as his ownership interests in the South Ozone Park and Long Beach properties involved in the schemes.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Ramasir, 28, obtained more than $2 million from an investor to purchase foreclosed real estate properties and resell them at a profit.

Ramasir went on to lie to the investor and create false documentation to show that he obtained ownership of approximately 38 properties in Brooklyn and Queens for the investor’s benefit. Of these properties, 37 either did not exist or were owned by others.

Ramasir used approximately $1.5 million of the investor’s funds for his own personal use to pay off nearly $200,000 in credit card debt, student loan payments in excess of $40,000 and to buy a Mercedes-Benz, trips and cosmetic surgeries for himself and others.

While free on bail for these charges, Ramasir stole thousands of dollars from individuals from June 2010 through October 2010. He posted advertisements on Craigslist for three properties using an alias and collected payments from several prospective tenants, without letting the tenants reside in the properties.

“Elviston Ramasir was a brazen and unapologetic fraudster, running an online rental scam while facing criminal charges for an earlier real estate scheme," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. "Now, he will be behind bars and prevented from swindling any more unsuspecting victims.”