06/16/2026
CENTER FOR PAN AFRICAN STUDIES DEMANDS URGENT LEGISLATION TO END DEED THEFT AND PROTECT BLACK HOMEOWNERSHIP
The Center for Pan African Studies today issued an urgent call for comprehensive state and federal legislation to end deed theft, a predatory crime that has systematically stripped Black and Brown homeowners of their generational wealth and displaced families across New York City.
Despite deed theft complaints to the New York Attorney General’s Office skyrocketing from 149 in 2023 to 517 in 2025 — a 240 percent increase — the crisis has been met with insufficient enforcement, weak penalties, and a judicial system that continues to evict victims while their cases remain unresolved. Between 2013 and 2023, more than 3,500 deed theft complaints were filed citywide, with Brooklyn and Queens bearing the brunt of the epidemic.
A Legacy of Displacement
Deed theft is the fraudulent taking of a home’s title through forged documents, misleading tactics, or outright coercion. Victims disproportionately Black women aged 62 to 100 have lost their homes after paying off their mortgages, only to discover that a forged deed had been quietly filed with the City Register. Others have been deceived by “deed rescue” scams or targeted through predatory partition actions.
“This is not a victimless crime. This is the systematic extraction of Black wealth from the very communities our ancestors built,”. “We have seen this pattern before from Tulsa to Seneca Village to Rosewood. Now, it is happening in broad daylight with black robes and forged signatures.”
Failed Enforcement and Weak Accountability
The Center condemned the light sentences handed down in major deed theft cases. In one of Brooklyn’s most notorious schemes, disbarred attorney Sanford Solny was convicted of stealing 11 properties from Black and Brown homeowners but received a sentence of only 2½ to 7 years and was released on bail after serving just two months in protective custody. The judge denied victims’ requests for restitution even though Solny had collected years of rent from their stolen homes.
The Center further called out New York Attorney General Letitia James for failing to investigate the thousands of deed theft complaints languishing in her office. Between 2023 and 2026, James’s office received well over 1,000 cases but has only pursued a handful, despite claiming deed theft as a priority.
“The Attorney General has time to chase headlines and fight political battles elsewhere, but she has abandoned Black homeowners in her own state,”. “Holding powerful interests accountable must include protecting the most vulnerable among us.”
Legislative Demands
The Center for Pan African Studies demands that state and federal lawmakers immediately enact the following measures:
1. Pass the Deed Theft: Private Right of Action Act (A8863A / S7721) This pending legislation would allow victims to sue deed thieves and any bank that knowingly finances a fraudulent transaction, and to recover treble damages and attorneys’ fees. The bill has stalled in committee and must be brought to a vote immediately.
2. Establish a Statewide Eviction Moratorium for Deed Theft Victims Governor Kathy Hochul must exercise her executive authority to impose a temporary stay on eviction proceedings where deed theft or fraud is suspected. No family should be thrown out of their home while the courts are still deciding if the property was stolen.
3. Create a Right to Legal Counsel for Deed Theft Victims While criminals accused of deed theft have a right to an attorney, their victims often face landlord‑tenant court alone. The state must fund a legal defense program for homeowners fighting deed theft.
4. Close the “Bona Fide Purchaser” Loophole Current law allows a deed thief to quickly sell a stolen property to an unsuspecting third party, who can then claim innocent owner status. Victims must be able to recover their property regardless of how many times it has been resold.
5. Launch a Federal Investigation — The coordinated nature of deed theft schemes involving forged deeds, complicit notaries, predatory attorneys, and sometimes even judicial officials constitutes a criminal enterprise that warrants federal RICO investigation and prosecution.
6. Fully Fund the NYC Office of Deed Theft Prevention Mayor Zohran Mamdani has taken a critical first step by creating the city’s first Office of Deed Theft Prevention, but his $10 million campaign commitment must be fully realized. The office’s current $1 million baseline is inadequate to address the scale of the crisis.
7. Mandate Recording Alerts The state should require that any document filed with a county clerk’s office that transfers or encumbers residential property trigger an immediate notification to the property owner of record.
Victims Demand Justice
Rachel Cyprien, a member of the People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft and a 15‑year victim of deed theft, spoke of the trauma caused by fraudulent loan modifications that stole her home.
“I have been fighting for 15 years. My 12‑year‑old daughter cannot live in the home she was conceived in because a deed thief put a squatter in my upstairs apartment,” Cyprien said. “Leticia James knows my story. She knows my plight. But she has not helped me. We are tired of being robbed in broad daylight by people in black robes.”
Evangeline Byars, a frontline activist with the coalition, added: “We are as committed to stopping deed theft as they are to taking our homes. We have no days off. We will stand in front of eviction vans, we will watch judges, and we will push back until every stolen deed is returned.”
A Call to Action
The Center for Pan African Studies calls on all people of conscience to join the fight against deed theft. The Center urges the New York State Legislature to pass A8863A/S7721 without further delay. It calls on Governor Hochul to sign an immediate eviction moratorium for suspected deed theft cases and to fully fund legal defense for victims. It demands that Attorney General Letitia James prioritize the more than 1,000 pending deed theft complaints and prosecute bad actors with the same vigor she has shown in other high‑profile matters.
“Deed theft is the modern‑day equivalent of land grabs that have targeted Black communities for centuries,”. “The difference is that today we have the law on our side if only our leaders would enforce it. We are not going anywhere. We built this city with our blood, sweat and tears. And we will fight to keep our homes, our deeds, and our future.”
