A disbarred attorney has been found guilty of unlawfully obtaining the property deeds of Black and Brown homeowners in Brooklyn. Sanford “Sandy” Solny was tried and convicted in Downtown Brooklyn for stealing 11 residential properties and defrauding a total of 15 victims.
The office of Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez charged him with employing a real estate fraud scheme that, between 2012 and 2022, promised to assist financially distressed homeowners.
Though he promised to facilitate short sales and prevent foreclosures, Solny instead transferred the property deeds from homeowners who came to him to 11 different companies under his management. During this period, he collected rent on these properties while allowing the original homeowners to continue facing foreclosure.
Following a bench trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on Thursday, June 5, the 68-year-old Solny was found guilty of 13 counts of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, three counts of first-degree scheme to defraud, and one count of third-degree grand larceny.
Mandatory jail time
After the guilty verdict, the district attorney’s office argued that Solny should be imprisoned until sentencing. They contended that Solny was a flight risk because he owns a total of 240 properties that could easily be monetized and used to fund his escape. “He is a 68-year-old disbarred attorney who has been committing fraud for 20 years now,” an assistant D.A. explained to the judge. “There is no reason to believe –– even though we can say he showed up every day for this trial –– now that he is facing mandatory jail time, that he will return. If I were a 68-year-old disbarred attorney, I would have questions of whether I would return for mandatory jail time.”
But Judge Chun allowed Solny to remain free until he is sentenced on September 17. The judge said that Solny should keep in mind that he currently faces between three and a half to seven years in prison, but if he tries to flee the country, once he is caught, Judge Chun would feel obligated to see that he faces a longer prison sentence: “It would be dozens of years in jail,” Judge Chun said. “So that would be more than enough incentive for the defendant not to flee.”
Preyed on Brooklyn homeowners
Solny, who lives in Midwood, Brooklyn, had his law license suspended in 2012; he was disbarred in 2023. The 11 properties he committed deed theft on were from homeowners in neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, Canarsie, East New York, and Ocean Hill.
District Attorney Gonzalez said of the case, “This defendant didn’t just steal homes — he stole stability, equity, and the future that these families worked hard to build. He preyed on Brooklyn homeowners already in crisis, including a nurse, cab driver, and home health aide, by posing as a trusted advisor. This sentence makes clear that we will not allow fraudsters to exploit vulnerable New Yorkers or profit from a housing crisis and highlights my office’s success in prosecuting deed theft.”
The D.A.’s office has said that it will reverse the 11 fraudulent deeds Solny executed and give ownership back to his victims. Still, even more homeowners who say they were victimized by Solny’s real estate fraud schemes are also looking for justice. Their cases were not included in this trial.
Gaoussou Ouedraogo and Patrice Sawadogo, from Burkina Faso, fell victim to Solny’s schemes. They were present in the courtroom when the former attorney was convicted. The two said they plan on finding legal help and re-establishing claims to the two houses Solny stole from them.
As the AmNews sat outside the court speaking with Solny’s victims, the former attorney solemnly left the courtroom with his defense attorney, family members, and a court officer. One Solny victim yelled out to him “You’re a piece of sh*t!” as he walked by. That enraged Solny’s wife. She quickly turned and feigned as if she was going to pounce on the woman who’d said it. “I wish you would,” the woman told Solny’s wife. The two women screamed at each other, but no physical confrontation followed. Then Solny and his supporters continued their walk toward the exits.
This case is preposterous. There is no allegation of a forged signature. The houses had no equity and were at the brink of foreclosure. Instead of it going to auction, solny gave these “victims” 10k and then invested money the former owners didn’t have to make the houses turn a profit. Their credit was already shot. They knew what a deed was when they sold because that’s what they signed when they bought the house. Now they want their second freebee payout. The only crime solny committed was being white in nyc. A damn shame what politics have done to this once great city.
I have been following this case in depth. The sellers knowingly sold the deeds of their underwater properties. Most of them lied on their mortgage applications (Federal crime) fabricating their income in order to procure mortgages of 100% financing and did not have to put down any money, then immediately defaulted on their mortgages, not even making one payment. They collected rent and tried modifications and short sales that were denied. In order to squeeze even more money out of properties they were losing, they sold their deeds to Solny for 10k-30k, right before foreclosure. Years later, after seeing that Solny was still able to hold on to the properties due to his experience in foreclosure defense (FYI he was only disbarred due to this fabricated case), they had sellers remorse and falsely claimed they did not know what they were signing!! However, they all admitted to signing and their signatures were notarized. Outright sales where they begged Solny to buy their deeds. They have no morals to fabricate lies against a benevolent man who helped them, in order to benefit themselves.
Remarkably, many testified that the DA came to them and informed them that they were defrauded and urged them to come testify with a promise of their deed back and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution!!!
Sadly, the DA is not acting to carry out justice, but to try to promote themselves and publicize how they are protecting minority New Yorkers from deed fraud.
As Gonzalez said: This “highlights my office’s success in prosecuting deed theft.” But this is not deed theft. I am ashamed of our DA and the criminal justice system.
This criminal Solny should be.locked away for 100 years. All the stolen properties should be returned to their rightful owners immediately. This would teach all these house thieves a valuable lesson.
Criminals like him are in every city in America – they need to be caught, punished – put in jail and the key thrown in the river.
If they signed the deed than that’s not a crime. It’s a crime when deeds are forged which is not alleged here. Saying people aren’t responsible for what they sign because they’re black is bigotry at the highest level.
Well, my home was sold at a foreclosure auction sale. I was not notified, was not behind, and my ex landlord was the ring leader. All of this because I fought back to keep my property.
It is unethical to give someone a few dollars for their property when their property is in foreclosure. People went to him for help, but he used his lawyer status, to gain monetarily.
Gonzalez emphasized that Solny’s actions robbed families of their homes and financial stability, underlining the commitment to prosecuting fraudsters targeting distressed homeowners. Convicted on multiple counts, Solny faces mandatory prison time, with a maximum sentence of seven years set for September 17, 2025. However, looking back at the broader context, the DA’s office could have been more proactive in addressing the persistent issue of deed theft, particularly in targeting repeat offenders like Solny. Solny still has 240 properties, the DA’s office has only prosecuted a limited number of deed theft cases over the last nine years, indicating a gap in the systemic approach to combat this ongoing problem.
I may have the same type of situation where upon the Erskine family was swindled out of their property at —- Brooklyn Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11203, and as they had a lawyer , the paper work from their lawyer makes no sense to me as I read through the paper work from the court document, who can I report to , it seems as though , lawyers were involved and did not protect their clients interest or provide proper representation , whatever that is : These 3 women remain homeless to this very day , scattered across the boroughs..