Crime & Safety
Somerville Real Estate Agent Stole $119K Worth of Clients' Deposits
"Her actions turned what should have been a positive experience of buying a home into a devastating financial hardship for these victims," said District Attorney Marian Ryan in a statement.
A Somerville real estate agent has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $119,000 worth of deposits from clients and spending the money on herself, according to an announcement from the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
The announcement, sent Monday, says Farkanda "Kandy" Tarar Shah, 61, of Peabody, pleaded guilty in Middlesex Superior Court to felony larceny, fiduciary embezzlement and being a common and notorious thief.
It says Superior Court Judge Keneth Desmond sentenced Shah to five years of probation and ordered her to pay restitution to nine former clients. She also needs to write letters of apology to them, the announcement says.
Shah did business as K-Realty in Somerville, and between 2007 and 2009 she paid personal and business expenses with clients' real estate deposits, which were supposed to be put into secure escrow accounts.
Often, Shah took clients' deposits that were meant to secure homes in short sales, when the seller owes his mortgage lender more than the house is worth. Short sales often fall through because they need approval from the seller's mortgage lender.
When clients asked Shah for their deposits back when deals fell through, she wasn't able to pay them back.
Manta.com, merchantcircle.com and other business-listing websites have listed K-Realty at 367 Broadway, in Winter Hill.
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