New York City is cracking down on real estate scams with a historic new initiative. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has officially established the city’s first-ever Office of Deed Theft Prevention, aiming to protect working-class homeowners from white-collar criminals who use fraudulent filings to steal properties.
This move addresses a growing crisis that disproportionately impacts communities of color and strips families of generational wealth.
The new office, housed within the Department of Finance (DOF), will be led by Peter White, a seasoned attorney with Access Justice Brooklyn. White brings over a decade of experience defending homeowners against foreclosure and deed theft.
“I will approach this position with the rigor and seriousness that it deserves, to help preserve the home of individuals,” White stated during a press conference in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. “My fundamental goal is to make life better for New York City homeowners.”
The Office of Deed Theft Prevention is designed to tackle the issue proactively. White outlined three central tenets for the new office: deed fraud identification, deep fraud prevention, and deep fraud correction and remediation.
The office will not operate in isolation. It will coordinate closely with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the City’s Commission on Human Rights to educate homeowners, particularly in areas with high rates of predatory practices like reverse redlining.
Furthermore, the team will connect property owners with legal counsel through the homeowner help desk and collaborate with the Attorney General and District Attorney’s offices to prosecute offenders. The office is also tasked with exploring new legislation at both the city and state levels to further bolster protections.
To ensure immediate impact, Mayor Mamdani also announced a six-month pause on tax lien sales, a process that has historically accelerated foreclosures. This pause will allow for a comprehensive review of the system with a focus on equity.
Deed theft is a complex and often devastating crime. Scammers target vulnerable homeowners, frequently seniors or those grieving the loss of a loved one, using deceptive practices to trick them into signing away their properties.
According to data from Attorney General Letitia James’ office, more than 3,500 deed theft complaints were filed in New York City between 2013 and 2023, primarily in Brooklyn and Queens. The problem has escalated sharply, with 517 complaints registered in 2025 alone, more than triple the number from 2023.
The impact has been felt most acutely in Black and Brown neighborhoods, contributing to a significant loss of generational wealth. Over the past two decades, more than 200,000 Black New Yorkers have left the city, an exodus tied directly to housing affordability and predatory practices.
“Deed theft not only disproportionately robs black and brown New Yorkers of their homes, but it also robs them of the stability that a home provides,” Mayor Mamdani said. Council Member Chi Ossé, a strong advocate for the new office, echoed this sentiment, calling the crisis an “epidemic” and central Brooklyn a “war zone” for legacy homes.
The initiative has garnered support from state and local officials, community advocates, and organizations like the NAACP. Attorney General Letitia James, whose office has been instrumental in prosecuting deed theft cases following new legislation in 2023, praised the collaborative effort.
“We must put an end to deed theft. We must save homes. We must save generational wealth. And we must do it together,” James stated.
