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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Michael R. Sisak

Ex-Brooklyn judge accused of swindling real estate investors out of millions of dollars

Judge Arrested Brooklyn - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A former New York City judge who resigned last year while under investigation for professional misconduct was charged Wednesday with abusing his position to swindle real estate investors out of at least $5 million and then using some of the loot to pay his own bills.

Edward Harold King, who left the bench at the end of last year, and Yechiel “Sam” Sprei, a politically connected real estate developer, were arrested by the FBI on wire fraud conspiracy charges after federal prosecutors say they duped a pair of investors into forking over $6.5 million for a bogus property bid and then failed to return all but a fraction of the money.

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