FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Brooklyn Woman Arraigned on Indictment Charging Her
With Stealing Sheepshead Bay Home
Defendant Allegedly Used Forged Deed and Utility Records To
Illegally Take Over Property of Deceased Homeowner
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn woman has been arraigned on an indictment in which she is charged with filing a forged deed and other fraudulent documents to steal a home in Sheepshead Bay, where she then allegedly squatted for months without any legal right to the property. The defendant also allegedly attempted to take over a second nearby home, but the filing was rejected due to a payment issue.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant allegedly took advantage of a deceased homeowner’s absence to steal a house and live there unlawfully. Deed fraud and squatting schemes like this rob families of their rightful properties and destabilize neighborhoods. We are committed to holding individuals accountable who use deception and forgery to take what is not theirs.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Shelle Revivo, 35, of Brooklyn. She was arraigned today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Dena Douglas on an indictment in which she is charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, first-degree offering a false instrument for filing and first-degree falsifying business records. She was ordered held on bail of $50,000 cash or $150,000 bond and to return to court on August 5, 2025.
The District Attorney said that, according to the indictment, the defendant allegedly filed a forged deed on August 1, 2024, transferring ownership of the single-family Sheepshead Bay house to herself for $10. The deed and related documents allegedly included forged signatures and backdated notary stamps. The defendant had no connection to the deceased owner.
The defendant allegedly moved into the house and opened a utility account, receiving gas service while unlawfully occupying the property. The investigation further revealed that the defendant allegedly attempted to file another fraudulent deed for a second nearby property in Manhattan Beach, also using forged paperwork tied to a deceased homeowner. That filing was ultimately rejected.
The alleged scheme came to light after a neighbor contacted the District Attorney’s Action Center to report suspicious activity.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kirsten Tamayo of the District Attorney’s Fraud Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Richard Farrell, Chief of the Real Estate Fraud Unit, Assistant District Attorney Gregory Pavlides, Chief of the Frauds Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, under the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of the Investigations Division.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt