AG James, Legislature target growing 'deed theft' fraud

ALBANY — Attorney General Letitia James has proposed a bill that would make a crime of “deed theft,” a growing concern in which older homeowners, often in minority neighborhoods, are tricked into turning over property for needed cash, or by forgery.

The bill has powerful sponsors in the State Legislature. The measure would create a crime of deed theft but also strengthen civil statutes to help combat the forgery and fraud that are part of the scam, James said.

“Victims of deed theft are often older adults and people of color who are asset rich but cash poor,” James said. “Deed theft robs them not just of their family home, but of their most significant financial asset and the community they have known for their entire lives.” 

Since 2014, New York City has received more than 3,500 complaints of deed theft. Prosecutors in Albany, Erie, Monroe and Onondaga counties have also recently received reports of deed theft, James said.

The measure proposes to collect statewide data on the often underreported practice.

The most common methods of deed theft are forging a homeowner’s name on file in a county clerk’s office or using fraud to get a homeowner to turn over their property. In each scheme, the scammers then often evict the homeowners and sell the property at “significant profit,” according to the attorney general’s office.

"We heard from many homeowners and their families who lost everything to scammers, fueling an exodus of longtime New Yorkers from the communities they've lived in for generations,” said State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn).

“Too often, state government has been unable to prevent or prosecute this destructive crime,” Myrie said.

Assemb. Helene Weinstein (D-Brooklyn), chairwoman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, called deed theft “an awful form of fraud.”

“This type of fraud often takes advantage of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, literally ripping their homes away from them and profiting greatly from the equity seized,” Weinstein said.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.