NYC Man Gets 3 To 9 For Using Forged POA To Pocket $300K+ In Loan Proceeds By Draining Equity In Unwitting Mother-In-Law's Queens Condo With Mortgage

From the Office of the Queens County District Attorney:

• Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown [] announced that an international businessman who resides in Manhattan has been sentenced to three to nine years in state prison for having used a forged power of attorney to unlawfully obtain a mortgage on his mother-in-law’s condominium in the Little Neck section of Queens and steal more than $300,000. The condominium had been free and clear of any mortgages prior to the theft.

• District Attorney Brown said, “The victim had accepted the defendant as family and, in turn, he thanked her by draining the equity from her condo, stripping her of all financial security. In seeking justice in this case, it was important that the defendant not only pay for his crime but take steps to repay his mother-in-law the monies he had stolen.”

• The District Attorney identified the defendant as Shih Siang Shawn Liao, 35, of [...] Manhattan. [...] As part of his sentence, Liao also signed a confession of judgment admitting that he owed a debt, including late charges, totaling $444,892 – payable to Chase Home Finance and his mother-in-law, Fanny Lam. A confession of judgement authorizes the victims to enter judgment against the defendant for the owed amount. The amount represents Liao’s civil liability to the two parties in connection with his illegal activities.

For the entire Queens DA press release, see Manhattan Businessman Sentenced Up To Nine Years In Prison For Stealing Over $300,000 By Surreptiously Taking Out Mortgage On Mother-In-Law's Queens Condo.