FWIW, the pre-sale buy side of the real estate is not transparent. These kinds of people usually do not normally get past the KYC stage required by NYC for lar

FWIW, the pre-sale buy side of the real estate is not transparent. These kinds of people usually do not normally get past the KYC stage required by NYC for large real estate sales, and therefore do not end up recorded in the public record. By definition, the only data that you can reasonably expect to exist about this phenomenon is "anecdata". I make no statements about the frequency of this phenomenon. I have no reason to believe that such tales are common. However, given the preponderance of stories on the topic, it's hard for me to believe that it never happens. This all being said, there are worse money laundering and real estate crimes out there. This is just a particularly amusing one.