Fast Solutions (file photo)
July 12, 2017 By Christian Murray
A Queens woman who owned a Woodside real estate firm and scammed 28 prospective tenants out of nearly $95,000 was sentenced last month to 3-years probation–and is required to repay all her victims.
Rosita Tsiklauri, a 48-year-old College Point resident, operated Fast Solutions Realty out of 47-20 48th Avenue, where she duped prospective tenants out of thousands in cash, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Tsiklauri’s firm collected deposits, fees and rental payments on apartments that were not available.
She would often show the same apartment to prospective tenants and ask them for cash payments to cover the deposit and first month’s rent. She would then tell her victims that the apartment was suddenly taken and pocket the cash.
In cases where she did refund her prospective tenants, the checks either bounced or her bank account was frozen.
She was arrested last year at JFK Airport after returning from the Ukraine. She was charged with second-degree criminal possession of stolen property, third-and-fourth degree grand larceny, first degree scheme to defraud and issuing a bad check. She faced up to 15 years in prison.
At the time, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said: “This case sadly represents an all too common scenario in which an allegedly greedy realtor is accused of taking advantage of Queens County’s tight housing market to rob unsuspecting individuals.”
However, she was sentenced June 20 to 3-years probation on the single charge of grand larceny in the fourth degree. She agreed to pay the 28 victims she bilked—-via a confession of judgement, according the District Attorney’s office.
The timeline of when the payments have to be made was not disclosed. However, according to the DA’s office, Tsiklauri is in the process of selling her home to make restitution.
