A Bronx man who passed himself off as a real estate broker has now admitted in separate Bronx and Manhattan cases that he took deposits and fees from New Yorkers desperate for apartments, and he has been convicted in both boroughs. Prosecutors say he stole more than $100,000 from nearly two dozen would‑be renters, many of them Hispanic and primarily Spanish‑speaking, by arranging tours of apartments he did not control and then pocketing application fees and security deposits. In a city where landing an apartment already feels like winning the lottery, officials say this scheme shows how scammers exploit a brutal rental market and language barriers to target vulnerable tenants.
In Manhattan, the D.A.'s office said Valoy pleaded guilty on July 14 to grand larceny after taking about $25,000 from three renters and agreed to a promised 2‑to‑4‑year state prison term, with sentencing set for Sept. 9, 2026, as detailed by the Manhattan D.A.'s office. “New Yorkers trusted Juan Valoy to rent them apartments. He broke that trust by pocketing their money, leaving them without homes,” D.A. Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Bronx prosecutors had already secured a guilty plea in a separate case on July 2 and sentenced Valoy to four years in prison followed by five years of supervised release after alleging he stole roughly $80,000 from 18 victims there, part of the more than $100,000 total prosecutors say he took from nearly two dozen New Yorkers. As reported by Gothamist, officials said Valoy was arrested while hiding in motels in Yonkers, remained held at Rikers because he could not post $150,000 bail, and typically collected deposits and fees ranging from $2,500 to $7,000 per victim.
How the scheme worked
Prosecutors say Valoy used Facebook Marketplace and third‑party referrals to reel in prospective renters, set up tours at apartments in Washington Heights, Queens and the Bronx, then collected checks and personal documents after telling victims the money covered application fees, security deposits or the first month’s rent. The Manhattan D.A.’s statement says many payments were made via cashier’s checks payable to Millan Serves Corp., a business registered to Valoy, and that he sometimes requested Social Security numbers and pay stubs as part of the fraud, a one‑two punch that left victims out thousands of dollars and worried about identity theft as well. Manhattan D.A.'s office
Past convictions and enforcement
Valoy is no stranger to housing‑fraud prosecutions. Records show he pleaded guilty in 2015 to a Washington Heights apartment scheme that targeted Hispanic immigrants and was sentenced to between 1⅓ and 4 years in state prison. That earlier case drew more than 20 complaints and prompted warnings about bogus brokers circulating in immigrant communities, a warning that now looks painfully prescient. The Real Deal
What tenants can do
Officials are urging anyone who thinks they were scammed to contact prosecutors and police and to hold on to any receipts, messages and banking records. The Manhattan D.A.'s Immigrant Affairs Unit and housing prosecutors can be reached for help; victims are encouraged to call the unit's hotline, 212‑335‑3600, or report the crime to local police, per reporting. Tenants are also being reminded to avoid paying large upfront sums in cash or to individuals instead of a landlord or property manager, and to verify whether someone is a licensed broker through New York State's licensing search. Gothamist notes the D.A.'s hotline, and the state's licensing portal is available at Department of State Licensing Services.
Valoy remains in custody while the convictions and sentencing in both boroughs play out, with the Manhattan sentencing scheduled for Sept. 9, 2026. For renters trying to navigate a tight market, officials say this case is a fresh reminder to double‑check who you are dealing with, document everything and report any shady request for big upfront payments before the money disappears.
