< Back to Previous Page Long Island Woman Sentenced In House Sale Scam Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that Catherine Martino (DOB12/07/64) of 1940 Deer Park Avenue, Deer Park, New York, was sentenced today to 21/2 to 5 years in state prison on two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree.  Additionally, as a condition of her sentence, judgment orders were issued for the full amount of the thefts.   Over a two month period from December 10, 2004 to February 3, 2005, the defendant defrauded three potential purchasers of a total of $52,250 by falsely representing herself to be the owner and seller of a property located at 339 South Fifth Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York. On December 10, 2004, she received a down payment check in the amount of $11,750.00 from one prospective purchaser. On January 26, 2005, she received a down payment of $18,000 from another interested party for the sale of the same house. Martino defrauded a third unsuspecting victim on February 3, 2005, by taking a $22,500 check as a down payment. District Attorney DiFiore said, “This defendant repeatedly misrepresented herself as the owner of a house defrauding a number of unsuspecting buyers. Although her greed will be rewarded with a term in state prison, her actions should alert prospective purchasers of property to the pitfalls of not carefully and methodically vetting the seller before handing over any money.” Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Galef of the Economic Crimes Bureau prosecuted the case. Contact New York house sale lawyers from the law firm of Weinstein, Chase, Messinger and Peters, P.C.