(NEWS10) — A Rensselaer County man was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to grand larceny by stealing the deed to an elderly man’s home. Joseph Goodnough, 42, will spend 12 weekends in jail and serve five years probation.
Prosecutors said Goodnough profited more than $75,000 when he sold the home to an unsuspecting third party less than a month after he convinced the man who lived there to sign over the property.
He also shut off the homeowner’s power and sought to have the elderly man removed the home. When the new purchasers tried to take possession of the property, they discovered the original owner was still residing there and learned of the fraudulent prior transfer, prosecutors said.
As part of his sentence, Goodnough must also pay restitution to the original homeowner and the subsequent purchaser through probation. To receive the split sentence, Goodnough paid $10,000 to each victim at sentencing.
If he fails to make full restitution, he could be resentenced to five to 15 years in state prison.
