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OSSINING, N.Y. -- A 60-year-old Armonk-based assessor has been charged with two felony counts in the Town of Ossining related to an assessment fraud scheme.
Alan Offenberg was charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, a Class D felony and scheme to defraud in the first degree, a Class E felony.
According to a criminal complaint issued by the Westchester District Attorney's office, Offenberg, who runs Alan Offenberg and Associates, a real estate tax reduction consulting business, represented homeowners trying to have their taxes reduced in Ossining, Armonk and Bedford.
Offenberg allegedly filed grievances which included a report bearing the purported signature of Arthur Parrish, a certified assessor and assessor for the Town of Somers, according to the criminal complaint. Offenberg received a commission which represented 50 percent of the property tax savings in the first year of the assessment.
Two Ossining residents submitted the grievances with Parrish's signature to the Town of Ossining Assessor's Office ,according to the complaint.
Parrish claimed he did not examine the properties or any other properties for Offenberg, according to the complaint.
Offenberg surrendered to Ossining police on Tuesday and was released on $2,500 bail.
Michael Romano, a White Plains-based attorney, has been retained as Offenberg's counsel and said he received the complaint yesterday. He said his office will conduct its own investigation and meet with the district attorney's office to engage in discovery.
"The nature of the present charges are highly inconsistent with my clients excellent reputation in the community of real estate professionals here in Westchester County with whom he has worked for the past 28 years," Romano said.
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