NYC Opens New Deed Theft Prevention Office

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday established the city’s first Mayor’s Office of Deed Theft Prevention and appointed Peter White, an attorney at a Brooklyn nonprofit, as its director.

Deed theft, in which white-collar criminals use fraudulent filings to steal homes from longtime residents, is a persistent threat to working-class homeowners in New York. Families who have spent decades building stability and generational wealth are being targeted and displaced through complex scams that exploit gaps in oversight.

“The theft of a home is the theft of a family’s future,” Mamdani said. “Deed theft preys on the New Yorkers who can least afford it."

White, an attorney with Access Justice Brooklyn, has spent years representing homeowners facing foreclosure and deed theft. In his new role, he will lead a coordinated, citywide strategy to prevent fraud, support impacted residents and strengthen enforcement. 

"I have worked to protect New York City homeowners throughout my career, and will carry that passion into my new role serving New Yorkers,” White said in a statement. 

White said the office will focus on three areas: deed fraud identification, prevention, and correction and remediation.

More than 3,500 deed theft complaints were filed in New York City, primarily in Brooklyn and Queens, between 2013 and 2023, according to Mamdani who shared data from New York Attorney General Letita James' office at a press conference. Over the past few years, the issue has escalated, with 517 complaints registered in 2025 alone, more than three times the 149 lodged in 2023, he said. 

"The establishment of this office is not just a win for homeowners, but for those housing professionals that work every day tirelessly to ensure that their clients retain their core asset, their homes," White said the press conference. "Deed fraud has especially affected seniors, many of whom live in Brooklyn and Queens. Many potential scammers see these people as being the most vulnerable population in New York City, and we're going to try to help correct that."

The new department will be housed in the Department of Finance, which records property documents, and will work closely with the Sheriff’s Office, the New York City Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, along with state and local partners.

The announcement comes on the heels of Brooklyn City Council Member Chi Ossé's arrest by police after he tried to stop the eviction of a Brooklyn resident who says a firm is trying to take her family's home through alleged deed theft. 

"I am proud to represent Black homeowners, especially seniors, whose life's work built our neighborhoods into a cradle of culture and community," the council member said. "Families who did everything right, who believed in the promise of home ownership, and who are now being targeted by people who see their homes not as an opportunity for crave and profit."

In addition, the mayor said the city is pausing its controversial tax lien sale, where the city auctions off property where owners haven't been able to pay taxes or their water bill, for the next six months.

"We have made that decision with the intention of undertaking a full review of the system with equity at the heart of it," he said.

Attorney General James said her office is now seeing a rise in partition scams, where bad actors try to force homeowners to sell the property they've inherited, even when other family members are still alive.

"In all of these illegal practices, it's the same playbook. Confusion, often from people grieving the loss of a loved one, or oftentimes they prey upon senior citizens," she said. "They exploit the complexity of our legal system to kick families out of their homes and their communities."

James emphasized her office's Homeowner Protection Program, which includes a fund comprised of prior settlements that will aid homeowners with free legal assistance. She also urged state lawmakers to expand the cease and desist zones, or areas designated in regulation to address aggressive real estate solicitation, to central Brooklyn, including Community Board districts 2, 3 and 17.

Additional speakers included Evangeline Byars of the People's Coalition to Stop Deed Theft, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Assemblymember Stephanie Zinnerman, state Senator Jabari Brisport, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, and L. Joy Williams, president of the NAACP New York State Conference.