Middleboro Man Accused of Helping Sell Other People’s Vacant Land in a $1.5M Multi-State Fraud

BOSTON (WBSM) — A Middleboro man is one of three men charged with allegedly taking part in multi-state schemes to defraud property owners by impersonating them and selling their land, and then laundering the proceeds.

According to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley, “one defendant allegedly defrauded property owners of approximately $1.5 million, while all three defendants are accused of laundering the proceeds of the fraud between June 2023 and June 2024.”

Kyon James, 44, of Middleboro was charged with money laundering conspiracy. Moshe Levi, 57, of Carrollton, Texas, was charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Bradley Beauge, 41, of Somerset, New Jersey, was charged with money laundering conspiracy.

All three men were arrested on July 16. James was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston later that day.

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How the $1.5 Million Vacant Land Scam Worked

It is alleged that Levi and his co-conspirators identified “vacant and unencumbered real properties” in Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana, and Tennessee that were owned by individuals that lived out of state.

Fake Identities Used to Trick Real Estate Agents

“Levi and co-conspirators allegedly established email and internet telephony accounts and obtained fake identifications, including driver’s licenses and passports, all in the names of the properties’ owners,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “Using the fake identifications and accounts, Levi and his co-conspirators allegedly impersonated the record owners of the properties in order to trick real estate professionals into listing and negotiating the sale of the properties and deeding the properties to unsuspecting buyers in exchange for payment.”

Levi, Beauge, and James then allegedly conducted financial transactions involving the proceeds from the fraudulent property sales, including by check and wire transfer, through individual and corporate bank accounts that they and others controlled “with the intent to conceal and disguise the nature, the location, the source, the ownership and the control of the proceeds.”

It is alleged that since June 2023, the three men and others shared illegal proceeds of about $1.5 million.

Potential Prison Sentences and Federal Penalties

The charge of wire fraud conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the financial transactions that were the object of the conspiracy.