Alleged grifters face federal charges in title theft case

Three men are facing federal charges over an alleged scheme to steal a Acton property from its out-of-town owners.

The multifaceted scam also targeted a property in Tennessee, two lawyers’ property in Georgia, and a lottery winner’s land in Indiana, recent court filings assert. 

As authorities closed in over the past two years, one unnamed co-conspirator blamed his dog for lost documents related to the Acton site, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

“We are grateful the FBI made these arrests,” attorney Richard Vetstein, who is representing the Acton property owners, told The Acton Bridge.

Prosecutors charged Moshe Levi, 57, of Carrollton, Texas, with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy this month.

They charged Kyon James, 44, of Middleborough and Bradley Beauge, 41, of Somerset, New Jersey, with money laundering conspiracy. 

Prosecutors said Levi and his co-conspirators found vacant properties with out-of-state owners. They posed as those respective owners using fake identification and tricked real estate agents and lawyers into helping sell those properties to unsuspecting buyers, officials said. 

Levi defrauded owners of roughly $1.5 million, and all three defendants laundered the proceeds, officials from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said last week.

Attorney Jane Peachy, representing Beauge, told The Bridge that her client is “entitled to the presumption of innocence” and that it’s too early to judge his guilt. She asked that people “withhold judgment as the case proceeds through the court system.” 

Attorneys for Levi and James didn’t immediately respond to questions from The Bridge. 

A multiyear endeavor 

South Carolina residents Halla Shami Jaraki and Omar Jaraki owned land on Mattison Drive. They intended to move to Massachusetts or give the lot to one of their sons, per a previous civil court filing.

Their Mattison Drive property went on the market in October 2023 and sold in May 2024. FBI Special Agent Michael Jankowiak said someone signed the listing agreement from a Nigerian IP address. 

Halla Shami Jaraki called Acton officials later that summer after she didn’t receive her tax bill. She reportedly screamed and fainted after a staffer told her the lot had been sold, per the civil complaint. 

Crews started building a house on the property. Work stopped after the Jarakis won an injunction. 

Scammers using cryptocurrency accounts had already sold a property in Carmel, Indiana, without the owner’s knowledge, by the time they turned their attention to Acton, Jankowiak wrote.

Jankowiak said Levi spent funds from the Indiana sale on bills at a New Jersey implant and cosmetic dentistry practice and payments to a Texas car dealer, among other purposes. 

Police in Texas arrested Levi in February 2024 on suspicion of fraud. 

Jankowiak described body camera footage from the arrest that purportedly showed Levi wearing a headset and receiving instructions as an officer asked questions, including what his Social Security number was.

Three days later, Jankowiak said, a co-conspirator emailed a Massachusetts real estate attorney involved in the Mattison Drive sale, asking him to resend copies of relevant documents. 

“I just woke up this morning to find out my dog had messed up the docs,” the conspirator said, according to the affidavit.

Jankowiak wrote that there’s “probable cause to believe” the conspirator asked for new copies because they no longer had copies through Levi. 

The Mattison Drive property sale went forward and netted nearly $500,000, Jankowiak said. 

Civil action

The Jarakis sued attorneys and a real estate agent involved in their property’s sale. They also sued the property’s buyers, itemizing “red flags” that emerged before closing.

The couple asked to void the deed and mortgage and to affirm that Halla Shami Jaraki is the lawful owner of the Mattison Drive property. They asked that the defendants cover legal fees and damages and asked the court to order the buyers to remove the partially completed home on the site. 

That case was ongoing as of press time. 

Attorneys for real estate agent Bernard Aaron wrote in one filing that the Jarakis complaint doesn’t allege any illegal conduct on his part. Aaron was acting “within the scope of his profession,” attorneys said, and the Jarakis complaint “actually acknowledges that Mr. Aaron and the other parties were fooled.” 

Authorities arrested Levi, James, and Beauge in the federal criminal case on July 16, prosecutors said. James and Beauge went free after initial court appearances in Boston, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Officials held Levi after his initial appearance in Missouri and said he’ll face a Boston judge at a later date. 

Back on Mattison Drive, weeds and wildflowers have grown across an unpaved driveway since the civil injunction stopped construction on the Jarakis’ land.

A no-trespassing sign still hung from a chain in front of a partially completed house Tuesday afternoon.