Roosevelt Island Homeless Wheelchair Bound Woman Swindled Of More Than $1.5 Million By Trusted Roosevelt Island Deli Owner Charges Queens District Attorney

An owner of the Roosevelt Island Bread & Butter Deli was among 5 people arrested yesterday and charged in a scheme that swindled over $1.5 million from Michelle Carter, a wheelchair bound homeless woman who was frequently seen panhandling over the years on Roosevelt Island.

Heartless crooks swindle homeless amputee out of $1.5M in settlement cash https://t.co/2Q2VvlJiOU pic.twitter.com/B1SELYZVJp

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) October 26, 2018

According to this October 24 press release from the Queens District Attorney's Office:

FIVE PEOPLE CHARGED IN SCHEME THAT SWINDLED OVER $1.5 MILLION FROM WHEELCHAIR-BOUND HOMELESS WOMAN

Stolen Money Was Last of Settlement Victim Received After Losing Legs in Subway Incident; Main Defendant Allegedly Used Scammed Cash For Wedding, Bachelor Party and Honeymoon

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, joined by Amtrak Police Chief Neil Trugman, today announced that a 27-year-old Queens Bodega owner, his father, a bank manager and two other men have been variously charged with crimes ranging from money laundering, grand larceny, conspiracy, criminal possession of stolen property and other charges for allegedly bilking a wheelchair-bound homeless woman out of more than $1.5 million between October 8, 2015 and October17, 2018.

District Attorney Brown said, “The homeless victim in this case lost her legs years ago when she was struck by a Subway train. She sued and received a $4 million settlement. Her windfall, unfortunately, became the target of alleged scammers. The victim trusted a bodega owner to cash her check, but temptation proved too overwhelming. The main defendant allegedly used the money for his wedding and honeymoon and distributed funds to his friends. This kind of underhanded con is unacceptable and the defendants will be held accountable for these alleged crimes.”

Amtrak Police Chief Trugman said, “The Amtrak Police Department is working with and helping our law enforcement partners and the District Attorney’s Office in concluding Ms. Carter’s case by sharing all information and evidence we come across during our investigation. Amtrak continues to maintain a strong security posture to keep our stations safe for passengers and employees.”

District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Ammar Awawdeh, 27, his father 58-year-old Yaser Awawdeh, both of 77th Street in Brooklyn, Salah Omairat, 30, of Fulton Street, also in Brooklyn, his brother Mukhtar Omairat, 36, of Staten Island and Anas Ali, 32, of Staten Island. (See Addendum for charges and arraignment details).

District Attorney Brown said that, according to the criminal complaints, Ammar and Yaser Awawdeh are the owners of the 579 Island Market store on Main Street in Roosevelt Island. The victim, Michelle Carter, 62, entrusted Ammar Awawdeh to cash one of her last settlement checks totaling just over $799,000. But when Ammar Awawdeh cashed the check he allegedly deposited the funds into the business’s bank account, where his friend and co-defendant Ali worked as a bank manager at the time. Between October 6, 2015 and October 30, 2015, defendant Ammar Awawdeh withdrew $200,000 of the funds for his personal use and distributed additional funds to the apprehend other defendants as well as to unapprehended others.

According to the complaints, continued District Attorney Brown, defendant Ammar Awawdeh used the pilfered $200,000 to pay for gambling trips and wedding expenses including a bachelor party in Las Vegas and honeymooning in Turks and Caicos.

Furthermore, said the District Attorney, according to the charges, in January 2016, the victim realized that her last settlement check for more than $886,000 was missing. She had placed the check in her Bible, which she carried around in her wheelchair along with her belongings. Ms. Carter went to a branch of the Bank of America to request that the check be re-issued. That is when she was told the check had been cashed and the victim reported the theft to the nearest law enforcement agency, the Amtrak Police at Penn Station.

The District Attorney said, according to the charges, the investigation revealed that defendant Ammar Awawdeh came to be in possession of the second check, however, this time not with the permission of the victim. Ammar Awawdeh along with his co-defendants allegedly conspired to steal the proceeds of this check by depositing it into the business bank account of a Queens bodega that was managed by co-defendant Salah Omairat at that time.

Continuing, said the District Attorney, the investigation allegedly revealed the second check was
deposited at the bank branch being managed by co-defendant Ali, who signed off on the depsoit of this check without the payee being present to endorse it. The following day, the stolen money was available to be disbursed and defendant Salah Omairat distributed more than $200,000 to himself and another bodega located in the Bronx. More than $200,000 was also given to defendant Ammar Awawdeh and the deli owned by he and his father and another $150,000 disbursed to his brothers bodega in Brooklyn.

According to the complaints, continued the District Attorney, defendant Yaser Awawdeh withdrew more than $40,000 cash and used $10,000 of that as a down payment for a new car. He also had $50,000 worth of cashier’s checks issued to several other entities, including a wholesale jeweler, a car dealership and a loan server. Defendant Ali was given $20,000 out of the cashed checks after approving the deposits. Ali no longer works for Chase bank.

A forensic analysis of all the bank records allegedly showed that the victim received just over $100,000 from the two checks that together totaled $1.685 million.

The case was investigated by Sergeant George Gernon, of the Amtrak Police Department, under the supervision of Inspector Kenneth Metz, Deputy Chief Martin Conway of the New York Division of Amtrak and Neil Trugman, Amtrak’s Chief of Police. The case was also investigated by Sergeant Patrick Dolan, of the Queens District Attorney’s Office, under the supervision of Lieutenant John Kenna, Deputy Chief Robert Burke and under the overall supervision of Chief Franco Russo. Also assisting in the investigation, Supervising Forensic Accountant James Dever, of the Queens District Attorney’s Office and Assistant District Attorney Christine Burke, of the Queens District Attorney’s Elder Fraud Unit.

Assistant District Attorney Christine Burke, of the District Attorney’s Elder Fraud Unit of the Economic Crimes Bureau, is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Silvana T. Sutich, Accountant and James J. Dever, Supervising Accountant Investigator, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Kristen A. Kane, Chief of the Elder Fraud Unit, Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Christina Hanophy, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Wilbert J. LeMelle.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The press release incorrectly identifies the Roosevelt Island deli as being a Queens bodega. Click here for full press release.

The Roosevelt Island Daily has more on Ms. Carter.