Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso on Tuesday, May 20, joined NYC Council Members and Brooklyn Delegation Co-Chairs Chi Ossé and Farah Louis, and NYC Council Member Sandy Nurse in rallying with advocates and homeowners at City Hall, demanding significant investment in the fight against deed theft as part of the upcoming Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Reynoso said deed theft, the fraudulent acquisition of property without a homeowner’s knowledge or consent, has become a rampant issue in Central and Eastern Brooklyn, where there is a large concentration of older homeowners and homeowners of color.
“Brooklyn will not tolerate scammers coming to our borough to prey on vulnerable Black and brown homeowners and steal their homes from right under their noses,” he said. “This investment offers the City Council an opportunity to keep our communities whole and give Brooklynites a fighting chance to remain in the homes they’ve owned for generations.
“I am so thankful to the Brooklyn Delegation for joining us in this demand and to the homeowners and advocates who are making their voices heard today,” he added.
Reynoso said he is leading the charge to secure a $5 million investment to fund legal services for deed theft victims fighting to retain their homes.
According to the New York Legal Assistance Group, deed theft is especially resource-intensive to litigate, given each case’s unique complexities and high evidentiary burdens in court.
It’s estimated that a typical deed theft case may require upwards of 300 attorney hours and seven years to complete.
As property values rise and small homeowners face growing risks of deed theft, Reynoso said Brooklyn’s network of free legal service providers is strained for capacity, and many lack grant funding to tackle deed theft head-on explicitly.
At Tuesday’s rally, Nurse announced legislation she plans to introduce with the support of Co-Prime Sponsors Reynoso and Council Member Ossé to require the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to create a website that publicly lists all individuals who have been convicted of committing larceny by deed theft.
The legislation is set to be introduced at the upcoming City Council State Meeting on May 28.
According to the New York State Attorney General’s office, nearly 3,500 complaints of deed theft were made to the New York City Sheriff’s Office from 2014-2023, and more than 1,500 came from Brooklyn –the most of any borough.
Brooklyn Legal Services said the most common scams these homeowners may face are refinancing scams, equity stripping, and foreclosure bailout loans.
Reynoso said Black and brown homeowners are particularly at risk for deed theft schemes, given speculation in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, limited access to legal services, and a tendency to lack a formal will or estate plan.
Deed theft is one of the most cruel crimes committed in our city. It is abuse, inflicted primarily on the seniors who built our communities. Brooklyn’s progressive elected officials are proud to take the lead in combatting this scourge and are committed to the defense of our neighborhoods,” Ossé said.
Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, said deed theft is hitting Black and brown communities in Brooklyn hardest, stripping families of the homes and generational wealth they’ve spent their lives building.
“This isn’t just paperwork — it’s a predatory practice targeting our seniors, immigrants, and longtime homeowners,” said the representative for the 45th Council District in Brooklyn. “The city must meet this crisis with urgency.
“That’s why I’m proud to stand with Borough President Antonio Reynoso and my Brooklyn delegation colleagues to call for a $5 million investment in this year’s budget — to expand legal services, support community outreach, and help Brooklyn families fight back and stay in their homes,” she added.
Nurse said “the city has not done enough to stop the increase of criminals who are preying on our older adults to steal the American dream away from Black and Brown families in New York City.
“These deed thieves are parasites, who are destabilizing communities in Brooklyn,” she added. “We’re demanding a $5M down payment in the FY2026 budget to adequately fund the free legal service providers protecting our neighborhoods from these white-collar thugs.”
Shabnam Faruki, director of the Neighborhood Economic Justice Project at Brooklyn Legal Services, said: “Because of the multiple scheming parties, perverse financial incentives, and devious tactics involved, unwinding deed theft is a painstaking and complicated process.
“Bringing scammers to justice and getting homes returned is resource-intensive and can take over a decade,” Faruki added. “Free legal help is needed now more than ever to counsel vulnerable homeowners, combat these scams, and restore title to victims.”
Julie Anne Howe, supervising attorney at New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), said, “Every day, NYLAG sees the impact that deed theft has on our communities.
“Deed theft has spiraling impacts on individuals and their families, taking their home and an asset that provides stability and access to financial opportunity across generations,” she said. “In Brooklyn, NYLAG works with first- and second-generation homeowners, senior citizens, and others who may struggle to pay property taxes or water bills and look for help to make it through a short period to preserve their homeownership.
“Too often, nefarious actors prey on their vulnerability and desperation to save their home with unfair and overly burdensome conditions that place their homeownership at risk,” she added. “We need more community resources to protect homeownership and ensure that families are not driven from their homes. We applaud Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso for his efforts to provide organizations needed resources for this critical work.”
Michelle de la Uz, executive director of Neighbors Helping Neighbors and Fifth Avenue Committee, said deed theft is “reprehensible, and the thieves who scam vulnerable and unsuspecting homeowners, stealing their homes and the generational wealth their families built, need to be brought to justice.
“Funding for legal services is critical to putting a stop to deed theft, ensuring people don’t lose their homes,” she said. “NHN and FAC stand with BP Reynoso and our City Council Leaders to call for critical legal services funding to protect the homeowners we serve.”
