Man sentenced for renting, selling dezen homes he didn’t own
TROY, N.Y. >> A Rensselaer man who has admitted to bilking people in several counties out of thousands of dollars by selling or renting homes he did not own was sentenced Monday for crimes involving 12 Rensselaer County properties.
Zarak O. Ali, 43, was sentenced Monday in Rensselaer County Court to three to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to felony counts of second- degree forgery and first- degree falsifying business records.
However, that sentence will run concurrent with a fourto 12-year prison term he was sentenced to May 5 on similar charges in Albany County, meaning he will serve no time beyond that initial sentence.
Ali admitted in February to forging deeds for foreclosed properties in the town of Brunswick and the cities of Rensselaer and Troy between January and March 2016, filing them with the Rensselaer County Clerk’s Office and renting or selling the properties. He has also pleaded guilty to similar charges in Columbia, Schenectady and Saratoga counties.
“Mr. Ali’s actions all boil down to one simple thing: greed. He deceived many people who were just looking for a fresh start, in many cases taking what little funds they were able to piece together. Thanks to the diligence of County Clerk Frank Merola and his staff, as well as the exhaustive investigation by the New York State Police, Mr. Ali was today held accountable for his actions.”