System Failures Part 1: In Black neighborhoods, deed theft hides in plain sight
System Failures Part 2: Heirs’ property, partition sales, and paper wars
A home can be stolen with a forged deed, and that lost deed leads to the loss of one of the central values that owning a property can bring: its equity.
Predatory lending, foreclosures, a disputed auction, or an eviction can strip the equity –– the wealth –– from a property before the owner realizes it. For New York families already struggling financially, that can mean losing both their home and the wealth they’ve built over generations.
Trying to get a fraudulent deed canceled or winning a court case won’t necessarily restore the years of lost equity and possible income the property could have generated.
New York strengthened its anti-deed theft laws in 2023 and 2024. Deed theft is now explicitly criminalized, the statute of limitations is longer, and the attorney general has statewide authority to prosecute. Now, prosecutors can try to pause evictions and ownership disputes; file notices warning would-be buyers of suspected fraud; and ask courts to void what look like fraudulent documents.
The new Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention (MODTP) is specifically supposed to help with deed fraud corrections — but city agencies can’t override judicial orders, so the MODTP won’t be able to help a victim regain title to their property once it’s passed through limited liability companies (LLCs), mortgages, and third-party purchasers.
In the Sanford Solny case, a Brooklyn judge convicted the disbarred attorney in June 2025 of charges tied to the theft of 11 properties from financially distressed homeowners. Last November, Solny was sentenced to two and a half to seven years, and the deeds he’d stolen were nullified. Prosecutors said he had collected nearly $500,000 in rent from the stolen properties, but his sentencing did not award that money to his victims. Now his defense attorneys are appealing his case.
Janet Bruce, whose East Flatbush home was transferred to a Solny-controlled company after what she says was a fake “short sale,” filed a civil lawsuit against Solny, his family members, and his corporate entities. This past May, Justice Robin K. Sheares granted Bruce a default judgment against the Solny defendants after finding that they had “willfully, contumaciously, and repeatedly” violated discovery orders. The case had taken more than six years and required more than 1,000 filings to resolve. Most homeowners don’t have the funds to get the legal support to fight that long of a case.
Attorney John O’Hara, who has spent years critiquing Brooklyn’s judicial and political systems, has argued that there are several recent deed-theft cases that could be seen as part of a system, and not as isolated transactions. He said there has to be greater scrutiny of guardianships, foreclosure sales, court filings, sheriff enforcement, and the LLCs that acquire underpriced properties.
“When this started, Bed-Stuy was probably 1 percent white,” O’Hara noted. “Now it’s 26 percent white, and when Black people talk about gentrification, I could tell you, white people just roll their eyes and look the other way. It’s all done in a very inclusionary fashion, right? If white people want to buy brownstones for $6 million, then fine, that’s their business. But that’s not what’s happening. [Some] are buying them for a million four, okay? They’re getting them for $5 million less, and that’s the one thing nobody’s noticed.”
Someone can follow the chain of title, identify every beneficial owner, compare the sale price with current value, and ask which public official could have stopped the displacement.
Once a disputed property title goes to court, resolving the case becomes long and complicated. Lawyers may have to reconstruct the ownership history, obtain banking and closing records, challenge whether legal papers were served properly, track rental income, seek court orders stopping further action, and determine damages. If the property has already been sold, lawyers would have to determine whether the new buyer knew the title was being disputed. Even if the original owner wins the court case, the fight may continue through appeals, hearings about damages, eviction proceedings, or another lawsuit to regain possession.
That’s why advocates are calling for stronger laws that can stop suspected deed theft quickly and help victims recover what they have lost. They want courts to halt property transfers when there are credible claims of theft; flag disputed titles for courts, lenders, and buyers; recover lost rent and equity; penalize professionals who help carry out fraudulent transfers; and provide legal support for cases that can take years.
They also want a clear way for victims to regain ownership and possession of their homes. Prevention efforts and workshops can help, but advocates say they are no substitute for strong enforcement and compensation for victims.
One new effort to fight these crimes comes from New York State Senator Jabari Brisport, who has introduced Senate Bill S7721A, a Private Right of Action bill designed to help deed-theft victims recover their losses. “Our Deed Theft Protection Package — created with the Coalition to Stop Deed Theft and other community input — is a set of bills designed to prevent future instances of deed theft and to restore justice for those whose deeds have been stolen,” Brisport said in a statement to the AmNews. “We included the Private Right of Action bill because it creates a pathway for victims of deed theft to receive financial compensation, potentially including increased damage compensation and the return of their home.”
The bill, which is currently being reviewed by the rules committee and still has to pass the full Senate and State Assembly, and be signed by the governor to become law, would let victims sue anyone responsible for a deed theft and make any banks whose loans helped enable the theft also liable to be sued. Victims would be able to recover their properties and sue for an amount that is three times their properties’ worth and have their attorney’s fees paid.
Victims have also told the AmNews they want a specialized, independent property-justice organization they can turn to — something more than just a clearinghouse. They want an organization that has title lawyers, foreclosure and Housing Court litigators, forensic accountants, investigators, social workers, and emergency-relief staff all under one roof.
It should accept cases regardless of whether the harm is labeled deed theft, partition abuse, guardianship, foreclosure rescue, or a disputed auction. Funding should allow cases to continue for as long as needed, rather than rewarding quick closures. The organization should also publicly report its results, without identifying victims, and show how many people recovered their homes, ownership, or lost equity.
Editor’s note: This story was made possible with help from a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. See parts 1&2 in our Blacklight series: System Failures Part 1: In Black neighborhoods, deed theft hides in plain sight System Failures, Part Two: Heirs’ property, partition sales, and paper wars
