Share and Follow
A WOMAN who claimed to be the heir to a $350,000 property used the money to splurge on a luxury car, jewelry, and lavish artwork before authorities uncovered she has no ties to the home.
Mercedes Tiffany King, 35, was arrested on November 9 and hit with a slew of fraud charges after authorities said she illegally inherited and sold the Bronx, New York City, property of a dead man she claimed was her father.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in April 2020, King falsely claimed to be the heir of the Williamsbridge home owned by Edward L. King, who had recently died.
However, Edward had no relation to King or her father, Edward King Jr, who died three years before she petitioned to be the administrator of the Bronx estate.
“The defendant allegedly sold the property for hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it was later discovered that she had no rights to the home,” Clark said.
The home, just two miles from the New York Botanical Garden, was valued at $675,000.
Read Related Also: Baaaarilliant! Fiona the world’s loneliest sheep settles into new life at ‘five star’ animal sanctuary – after threats from protesters sent her into hiding
King managed to successfully claim the property and sold it in February 2022 for $480,000.
Clark said $356,075 was wired directly to King’s bank account.
The suspect then allegedly went on a shopping spree, splurging $50,00 on a 2021 Audi Q8 and issuing a $10,000 payment to her brother to be her driver.
King is also accused of using $17,500 of the fund for an interior design job, $17,000 on luxury jewelry, and $6,000 on artwork.
After King’s attorney realized she had no legal right to the property, she was asked to return the money but refused, prosecutors said.
She was arrested on November 9 and charged with multiple degrees of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, forgery, scheming to defraud, offering a sale instrument for filing and falsifying business records.
At her arraignment hearing, King was held on $300,000 bond.
She’s due back in court on December 7.