Brothers allegedly bilked man out of home

A Brooklyn man has pleaded guilty to fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property in connection with the fraudulent sale of a retired New York City correction officer’s Cambria Heights house. The defendant was charged in the case along with his brother, who is a fugitive.
The defendants have been identified as Moses Brach, 31, of Brooklyn, and his brother, Joel Brach, 27, who lived at 137-68 70th Avenue in Flushing and is believed to have fled to Israel. Moses Brach, who is employed at the family-owned 18th Avenue Kosher Fish Store in Borough Park, Brooklyn, pleaded guilty in Supreme Court before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder to one count of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was sentenced to pay $50,000 in restitution and his check in that amount was personally delivered to the victim hours later by the prosecution.
According to the charges, 71-year-old Hoesey Walker sought the aid of Home Energizer, Inc., a real estate brokerage company formerly located at 189-07 Jamaica Avenue in Hollis, in February 2007 to assist him in the purchase of real estate. Joel Brach, an employee of Home Energizer, allegedly handled the transaction involving Walker’s purchase that same month of two properties - one in Brooklyn and the other in Queens - for a total of $1,370,000.
It was further charged that shortly after the purchase of the two investment properties, Walker’s daughter, New York City Police Officer Kim Walker, discovered that her father had begun to exhibit signs of dementia and did not understand the financial consequences of purchasing the two investment properties. Officer Walker also discovered, it was alleged, that her father’s primary residence at 114-121 228th Street in Cambria Heights had been sold. It is further alleged that the Cambria Heights residence was sold in March 2007 to Joel Brach and his brother, Moses Brach, for $440,000 and that the equity proceeds from the sale of the house - $211,000 - were placed in a Wachovia joint banking account in which the two Brachs and Walker were listed as the account holders.
Finally, it is alleged that Walker was not present at the closing, which took place at Joel Brach’s Flushing residence. As a result of the sale, it is alleged, a check was made payable to Walker in the amount of $211,000 - which was then deposited into the Wachovia account that the Brachs had established.
District Attorney Richard A. Brown noted that, as a result of the sale, a mortgage in the amount of $407,537 in the names of the Brachs was filed against Walker’s property and that mortgage is near foreclosure. Prior to the sale, Walker only had a mortgage of $187,633 on his property.