A Whitestone real estate appraisal company and its CEO have been indicted for allegedly stealing identities of appraisers and inflating property values. D & T National Appraisals and CEO Donato Odato, 54, are charged with forgery, falsifying business records, identity theft, scheming to defraud and conspiracy. Odato allegedly recruited appraisers through the Internet as a ruse to steal their personal identity and then allegedly forged their names on appraisals filed with residential mortgage applications. The alleged scheme was discovered after the appraisers were accused of inflating property values and lost work. “This type of mortgage fraud has the potential to needlessly cost lenders and purchasers millions of dollars, as well as undermine the credibility of the entire real estate market,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. TRD