Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced July 14 that a Bronx man, Juan Valoy, 47, pleaded guilty to stealing around $25,000 from three victims through an apartment rental scam. He said Valoy pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to one count of grand larceny in the third degree. Under the terms of his plea, Bragg said he is expected to be sentenced on Sept. 9, to a promised sentence of two to four years in State prison.

 

“New Yorkers trusted Juan Valoy to rent them apartments,” Bragg said. “He broke that trust by pocketing their money, leaving them without homes. Juan Valoy is facing time in state prison for his harmful conduct. Manhattan is facing a housing crisis, and we will prosecute those who exploit it for their own advantage”

 

According to court documents and statements made on the record, and as admitted in the defendant’s guilty plea, from March to July 2025, Valoy posed as a real estate broker to attract prospective renters through Facebook Marketplace and third-party referrals. After establishing contact with the prospective renters, he arranged tours of apartments throughout New York City that he claimed were available to rent, including in Washington Heights, Queens, and The Bronx. Most of the prospective renters were Hispanic New Yorkers who primarily spoke Spanish.

 

Prosecutors said Valoy personally solicited and accepted payments from victims of more than $7,000, often in cashier’s checks payable to Milian Services Corp., a business registered to Valoy, for what he claimed were application fees, security deposits, and first months’ rents. They said he also solicited personal information from the victims, such as financial records, birth certificates, pay stubs, and social security numbers, claiming it was for rental applications.

 

Valoy had no ownership of or permission from the actual owners to list the apartments he was offering for rental, prosecutors said. After taking the money from the victims, they said he repeatedly delayed the move-in date with excuses, including that the units needed repairs and pest treatments.

 

They said when the victims continued to contact him, he cut off communication without ever returning their funds. They said in one case, the victim had already moved out of her prior home and tried to move with her young child into The Bronx apartment that she believed she had rented from Valoy, only to find that it was already occupied by other tenants.

 

Assistant District Attorneys Hannah Stambaugh of the Housing & Tenant Protection Unit and Luis Morales, chief of the Immigrant Affairs Unit, handled the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Chikaelo Ibeabuchi, chief of the Housing & Tenant Protection Unit, Hope Korenstein deputy chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau, Kofi Sansculotte, chief of the Financial Frauds Bureau, Judy Salwen, deputy chief of the Investigation Division, and Executive Assistant D.A. Jodie Kane, chief of the Investigation Division.

 

Immigrant Affairs Coordinator Emely Salazar Perez; Housing Coordinator Victoria Grevenberg; Investigative Analyst Sofia Albi; Supervising Rackets Investigator Samuel Morales; Rackets Investigators Daniel Walker and Antonio Shilinsky all provided valuable assistance in the investigation, Bragg said.

 

He also thanked District Attorney Darcel Clark’s Office for their assistance, particularly Senior Investigative Counsel Deborah Seidenberg and Assistant D.A. Diana Mitchell.