Community Called to Fight Deed Theft

By Mary Alice Miller
Assemblywoman Stefani Zinerman is calling on the community to bring forth evidence of deed theft, fraud, and scams in order to support legislation “that would make all of Kings County a cease-and-desist zone, prohibiting real estate brokers, salespersons, and other persons regularly engaged in the trade or business of buying and selling real estate from soliciting sales in our community.”

Zinerman is partnering with New York Secretary of State Walter Mosley on the cease-and-desist effort. Mosley, a former Assemblyman who represented the 57th assembly district, has committed to supporting the cease-and-desist zone legislation if the community presents 500 pieces of evidence of deed theft and unwanted solicitation against residential and commercial property owners.

The evidence may be submitted in digital or physical formats, including postcards, business cards, handbills, fliers, pictures or videos of door-to-door calls, or other evidence of solicitation.

“Our community is facing an epidemic of deed theft. We all know a friend or a neighbor who has lost their home because unscrupulous individuals have tricked them into relinquishing their properties.

These individuals take advantage of seniors and disproportionately target communities of color like ours, displacing longtime residents and forcing them out of their homes,” said Zinerman. “Adding to the issue, some real estate agents aggressively target our neighborhoods, offering immediate but undervalued payments and heavily profiting from this unethical practice.”

The NYS legislature has been consistent and persistent in combating deed fraud.
Alerts and notifications to property owners whenever someone looks up a deed were hard-fought legislation so that people could be made aware that somebody was looking up their property.

In December 2023, the governor signed legislation that gives the State Attorney General and local District Attorneys power. If something was suspicious, then they could stay any eviction proceedings until the investigation was complete.

Pending passage is legislation explicitly makes deed theft a grand larceny, allowing additional charges to deed theft felony. It would also allow for up to two years after the deed theft for the individual(s) to be charged with the crime. In addition, the legislation would add protections for commercial property owners.

The recently signed legislation allows courts to acknowledge contention between home owners and unscrupulous deed scammers based on documentation that suspicious activity is involved and therefore not allow eviction notices to be issued pending the investigation.

“The thing about deed theft is it is theft,” said Zinerman. “We have a syndicate level criminal enterprise that has targeted Bedford Stuyvesant to specifically extract the wealth out of the community, I would say Black folk since that is the majority of targeted people.

There might be come of other colors and races that have experienced this, but when I look at the data and listen to the stories and look at the people who come to my office they all look like me. It is a syndicate level targeting of Black wealth and the extraction of Black wealth over the years.”
Zinerman called deed theft “crimes against families and communities,” adding, “It needs to be stopped.”

She noted that crafting and passing legislation takes time. Meanwhile, “the criminals are emboldened and have their own lawyers trying to figure out a way around the very law that we put in place,” Zinerman said. “We have to be ever diligent in figuring out what is going to be the next step that we did not anticipate so now we have to address that through legislation.”
The assemblywoman cited local notorious cases.

77th Precinct Council Brian Saunders’s late mother, Marlene, had her property taken due to a $4,000 property tax payment that was paid but not recorded. Her property was returned because she spoke up early.

Real estate professional Richard Flateau had the deed to his Fulton Street property near the former location of The Lab stolen. He was able to get his property back.

Former Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes instituted a series of actions against campaign rival Judge John Philips that resulted in the taking of Philips’ properties, including Slave One on Fulton Street and The Black Lady Theater, aka Slave Two on Nostrand Avenue. The Black Lady Theater Group produced a documentary outlining the sordid affair called “Slave One: The Kung Fu Judge Story.”

Brown Sugar on Marcus Garvey Blvd. It was taken via an investment scam. And Zinerman said the gas station on Throop Avenue between Gates and Monroe was targeted as a direct result of commercial banks not investing locally, leaving unscrupulous investment companies as the only alternative for financing.

The property on Bedford Avenue and Fulton Street became a victim of deed theft when the long-time oil company there claimed that the periodic leases were rent-to-own.
And then there are the numerous incidents of brownstone homeowners who have been displaced and made homeless or near homeless due to deed theft.

“I have heard all kinds of horror stories,” said Zinerman. “We have people come into my office with these issues. Not as many as there are out there, but we do get them. Unfortunately, by the time that we get them, it’s almost too late.”

Zimmerman said she understood. “A lot of times what has happened is people are ashamed, they sign over stuff, somebody in the family did something not understanding the full implications of what they signed, somebody was duped into believing someone was helping pay off a tax bill or something and it ended up being you turning over your house to them for a missed payment,” she said.

“There is no free money. If somebody is knocking on your door, promising you anything, you automatically have to assume it is a scam. Nobody is knocking on your door to give you money,” said Zinerman.

Zinerman is ready for the fight to protect Bed Stuy. “You cannot continually disrespect and violate our community this way. We have to let these folks know that you are messing with the wrong community,” she said. “We have to address this from a community perspective, the same way we do boycotts (and marches). We have to do that because we know that the people have the power in this situation.”

Zinerman is asking everybody who is in trouble to come and report that information to her office and the district attorney so that they can look at the patterns behind deed theft.
“We will no longer be victims,” Zinerman said.