Queens Man Convicted in $552,500 Deed Theft Case Under New York's 2024 Law
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 13
Queens Man Convicted in $552,500 Deed Theft Case Under New York's 2024 Law
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 13
Summary
A Queens man became the first person convicted under New York’s 2024 deed theft law after pleading guilty to stealing an older woman’s home and using it to secure a $552,500 mortgage.
Prosecutors said he forged the dementia patient’s signature on deeds, transferred the house to his business, paid off liens and took more than $300,000 in equity for personal use; the home will be returned to her family.
Rising property values are making the fraud more lucrative, with older owners, vacant homes and tangled-title properties seen as especially vulnerable targets.
F.B.I. real-estate crime complaints rose 32% in 2025 to more than 12,000, with losses above $275 million; deed or title theft complaints reached 75 and nearly $7 million in losses from January through October this year.
Awareness is highest in the Northeast, where 95% of real-estate executives surveyed said they knew of such fraud locally, and New York City has already created a dedicated deed-theft prevention office.