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Both Charlene Humphreys, a former Code Enforcement Officer for the Mount Vernon Department of Buildings, and Damon Davis, a current city Code Enforcement Officer, were arrested on Thursday, Dec. 19 in connection with the scheme, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.
According to felony complaints submitted to White Plains City Court, Humphreys used her middle name, Jennifer, and her mother's main name, Blaine, to set up an account with the Westchester County Clerk's Property Records Electronic Portal (PREP) system, which is used to accept, review, and approve property transfer submissions in the county.
In May 2023, Humphreys allegedly used this account to submit documents to transfer a home at 484 East Fifth St. in Mount Vernon valued at just over $497,000 in May 2023 to a company called "A and C Home Restoration LLC" that she had formed a month before.
One of those documents was a deed signed by two deceased individuals who had died in April 1996 and February 2017, according to the complaint.
Months later, between late June and early July 2023, Humphreys allegedly submitted documents to transfer a Mount Vernon home at 32 South 15th St. valued at over $637,000 in May 2023 to the same company. A deed filed for this transfer was also found to have been signed by two deceased individuals, court documents said.
Both deed transfers were not recorded by the Westchester County Clerk, the court documents continued.
In addition to these alleged attempted thefts, in March 2023, Humphreys allegedly filed documents in PREP related to the transfer of Mount Vernon properties at 352 Summit Ave. and 10 Madison St.
For the transfer of the Summit Avenue property, Humphreys submitted a deed signed by the owner who later told investigators he had no knowledge of the sale. This deed also included a "Notary Acknowledgement" that this owner "personally appeared" that was completed by Davis, who was a licensed notary public in Westchester at the time, according to the complaint.
For the Madison Street property, Humphreys submitted a deed signed by a deceased person which also included a similar Notary Acknowledgment from Davis, court documents said.
Both Humphreys and Davis were code enforcement officers at the time of the alleged crimes in the Spring and Summer of 2023.
Following their arrests, the duo were both charged with first-degree falsifying business records. Humphreys was also charged with second-degree attempted grand larceny.
Humphreys was arraigned in White Plains City Court, while Davis was given a desk appearance ticket. They will both appear in court on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
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