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Brooklyn real estate business owner, Avraham Tarshish, has been convicted of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud as part of a $2.4 million scheme. The 45-year-old faces up to 30 years in prison after a 12-day trial.

    Tarshish, who worked for My Ideal Property and owned other real estate businesses, conspired with co-defendants to defraud mortgage lenders between March 2013 and November 2018. They misled lenders into approving short sales at depressed values by manipulating transactions and failing to market properties, preventing other buyers from making offers.

    Tarshish and his co-conspirators paid homeowners in foreclosure to lock them into short sales and placed fraudulent liens on properties to deflate property values. Prosecutors presented evidence linking Tarshish to dozens of fraudulent short sales that defrauded lenders and servicers of over $2.4 million, including 11 in Brooklyn.

    Co-defendants Isaac Aronov, Michael Kay, Tomer Dafna, and Michael Herskowitz previously pleaded guilty in the scheme and face up to 30 years in prison, except for Herskowitz who may receive a maximum sentence of five years.