Attorney Jacob Inwald explains new law that makes deed theft a crime and expands AG's power to prosecute
Jacob Inwald is the director of litigation and economic justice at Legal Services NYC, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that provides free legal services to low-income New Yorkers. Credit: Legal Services NYC
A new law establishing deed theft as a crime and expanding the state attorney general’s ability to prosecute it took effect in July.
Deed theft, which disproportionately affects elderly homeowners and those of color, is the taking of a homeowner’s title, or deed, without their knowledge.
Before the law took effect, deed theft itself was not a crime, according to the office of Attorney General Letitia James, who co-authored the legislation passed by the State Legislature.
"This law amends penal law to make deed theft a form of grand larceny, extends the statute of limitations to allow for more time to identify and investigate cases, and grants OAG the original criminal jurisdiction to prosecute deed theft crimes alongside district attorneys statewide," the office said in a statement.
Attorney Jacob Inwald is director of litigation and economic justice at Legal Services NYC, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that provides free legal services to low-income New Yorkers.
Inwald talked with Newsday about why deed theft has grown, its impacts, and how the new law will help fight the crime. Answers have been edited for space.
How does deed theft occur?
It scams people trying to avert the loss of their home because they are trying to keep up with their mortgage or are in arrears on their property taxes or utilities, which are threats to homeownership because those are secured by liens on the property.
They are victimized by scammers who tell them they're going to help them save their homes, but are getting them to sign paperwork that transfers ownership to a scammer.
What do scammers offer the homeowners to get them to sign the paperwork?
They might tell the homeowners they’re going to help them get loan modifications, an adjustment to the mortgage terms so they become affordable.
How is the homeowner alerted to the theft?
They often don't find out what happened for quite some time, until the scammer who took title to the property sues them in housing court in a landlord-tenant case to evict them.
Sometimes they use "straw buyers," who are people they bring in off the street to buy the property or take title to the property and then saddle it with a mortgage.
Or sometimes they transfer the property to an LLC and create a corporate shell company that takes ownership.
Why has deed theft become more common?
In a market like New York, which includes the suburbs, there's a housing affordability crisis. There are people under stress to maintain homeownership, and you have appreciating property values with investors looking to get ahold of these properties on the cheap.
There are homeowners who are cash poor with targets on their backs because foreclosures and tax liens are a matter of public record.
So, the scammers review what's in the record and go after people who are vulnerable, literally knocking on doors or doing other types of solicitation. Scammers often concentrate their activities in communities of color.
Before the law took effect in July, was there any recourse for victims of deed theft?
If you saw a lawyer soon after it happened, there were remedies. We've had a law on the books called the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act in New York, which gives some recourse but proved inadequate until it was recently amended and strengthened.
But most homeowners wouldn't reach help in time to rescind a transaction, which that law provides.
So, it was possible to bring a quiet title action in court based on the underlying fraud or forgery or other wrongdoing, but that requires access to a competent lawyer.
In 2019, amendments to the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act in New York made some improvements, and changes to the law were made in 2023 provided more tools to people who had been victimized.
In cases where a law enforcement agency goes after a deed theft, if they get a conviction or an admission from the perpetrators, there's now a procedure whereby law enforcement can get an order from the court restoring title to the defrauded homeowner.
Before that option was available, it mostly fell on organizations like my own to bring a quiet title action to address the fraud and to get the title restored. And those lawsuits can go on for years.
How will the new law help fight deed theft?
The legislation that was just passed creates a criminal provision, which helps make it more practicable for law enforcement agencies to go after these crimes.
What steps can homeowners take to protect themselves from deed theft?
The most important thing is prevention. And New York has a statewide network, called the Homeowner Protection Program, in which nonprofit housing counselors and legal services providers work with distressed homeowners.
It serves every county of the state, and that is the most important resource in actually preventing these kinds of scams from happening in the first place. Clients in that program get free legal advice to protect themselves from deed theft.
A new law establishing deed theft as a crime and expanding the state attorney general’s ability to prosecute it took effect in July.
Deed theft, which disproportionately affects elderly homeowners and those of color, is the taking of a homeowner’s title, or deed, without their knowledge.
Before the law took effect, deed theft itself was not a crime, according to the office of Attorney General Letitia James, who co-authored the legislation passed by the State Legislature.
"This law amends penal law to make deed theft a form of grand larceny, extends the statute of limitations to allow for more time to identify and investigate cases, and grants OAG the original criminal jurisdiction to prosecute deed theft crimes alongside district attorneys statewide," the office said in a statement.
Attorney Jacob Inwald is director of litigation and economic justice at Legal Services NYC, a Manhattan-based nonprofit that provides free legal services to low-income New Yorkers.
Inwald talked with Newsday about why deed theft has grown, its impacts, and how the new law will help fight the crime. Answers have been edited for space.
How does deed theft occur?
It scams people trying to avert the loss of their home because they are trying to keep up with their mortgage or are in arrears on their property taxes or utilities, which are threats to homeownership because those are secured by liens on the property.
They are victimized by scammers who tell them they're going to help them save their homes, but are getting them to sign paperwork that transfers ownership to a scammer.
What do scammers offer the homeowners to get them to sign the paperwork?
They might tell the homeowners they’re going to help them get loan modifications, an adjustment to the mortgage terms so they become affordable.
How is the homeowner alerted to the theft?
They often don't find out what happened for quite some time, until the scammer who took title to the property sues them in housing court in a landlord-tenant case to evict them.
Sometimes they use "straw buyers," who are people they bring in off the street to buy the property or take title to the property and then saddle it with a mortgage.
Or sometimes they transfer the property to an LLC and create a corporate shell company that takes ownership.
Why has deed theft become more common?
In a market like New York, which includes the suburbs, there's a housing affordability crisis. There are people under stress to maintain homeownership, and you have appreciating property values with investors looking to get ahold of these properties on the cheap.
There are homeowners who are cash poor with targets on their backs because foreclosures and tax liens are a matter of public record.
So, the scammers review what's in the record and go after people who are vulnerable, literally knocking on doors or doing other types of solicitation. Scammers often concentrate their activities in communities of color.
Before the law took effect in July, was there any recourse for victims of deed theft?
If you saw a lawyer soon after it happened, there were remedies. We've had a law on the books called the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act in New York, which gives some recourse but proved inadequate until it was recently amended and strengthened.
But most homeowners wouldn't reach help in time to rescind a transaction, which that law provides.
So, it was possible to bring a quiet title action in court based on the underlying fraud or forgery or other wrongdoing, but that requires access to a competent lawyer.
In 2019, amendments to the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act in New York made some improvements, and changes to the law were made in 2023 provided more tools to people who had been victimized.
In cases where a law enforcement agency goes after a deed theft, if they get a conviction or an admission from the perpetrators, there's now a procedure whereby law enforcement can get an order from the court restoring title to the defrauded homeowner.
Before that option was available, it mostly fell on organizations like my own to bring a quiet title action to address the fraud and to get the title restored. And those lawsuits can go on for years.
How will the new law help fight deed theft?
The legislation that was just passed creates a criminal provision, which helps make it more practicable for law enforcement agencies to go after these crimes.
What steps can homeowners take to protect themselves from deed theft?
The most important thing is prevention. And New York has a statewide network, called the Homeowner Protection Program, in which nonprofit housing counselors and legal services providers work with distressed homeowners.
It serves every county of the state, and that is the most important resource in actually preventing these kinds of scams from happening in the first place. Clients in that program get free legal advice to protect themselves from deed theft.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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