BRONX, NY – A Manhattan man has been sentenced to six months in jail and four years of probation for stealing his 89-year-old relative’s Bronx home while the victim was confined to a nursing facility, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced Tuesday.
Frank Blackshear, 47, of West 122nd Street in Manhattan, admitted to transferring ownership of his grandfather-in-law’s Taylor Avenue property in Soundview, valued at nearly $700,000, using falsified legal documents. Blackshear pleaded guilty in September to charges including second-degree grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, falsifying business records, and offering a false instrument for filing.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Timothy Lewis sentenced Blackshear to jail time and probation and ordered him to return the home to the victim, now 92, and reimburse his legal expenses.
According to investigators, Blackshear executed the fraudulent transfer between February and May 2023, while the victim, Milton Roberts, was receiving care in a nursing home. The defendant also created documents naming himself as trustee and giving his wife, Jessica Blackshear, control over Roberts’ assets and health care decisions, including a living will that denied life-prolonging measures.
District Attorney Clark condemned the act as a predatory betrayal of trust. “Deed theft is a merciless crime that robs people of their homes, community, and financial stability,” Clark said. “This defendant took advantage of a vulnerable elderly man. Now, he will spend time behind bars and pay restitution for the victim’s legal fees.”
The case was handled by the Bronx District Attorney’s Financial Frauds Bureau, with assistance from several investigators and trial preparation staff under the supervision of senior prosecutors in the Investigations Division.
