Former New York City Judge Edward Harold King leaves Brooklyn federal court, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in New York, after making an initial appearance on a charge of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with an alleged real estate investment scam. (AP Photo/Michael R. Sisak)
NEW YORK (AP) — 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.
The allegations are similar to claims made against King in civil lawsuits and in complaints to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, whose investigation precipitated his resignation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Wang told a judge at the men’s initial court appearance on Wednesday that the transaction described in the criminal case was “one of several schemes that the government has been investigating.” Discussing Sprei’s finances, the prosecutor said “it’s safe to say many, many millions of dollars” have moved through his bank accounts in the last few years.
