May 4, 2026

Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently established New York City’s first Office of Deed Theft Prevention and appointed Peter White, an attorney from Access Justice Brooklyn, as director. The office will sit within the Department of Finance and coordinate with city agencies, law enforcement, prosecutors, and legal partners to identify suspicious filings, educate homeowners, and support affected residents. The new office is a testament to the city’s effort to treat deed theft as both a fraud-prevention issue and a housing stability issue for vulnerable homeowners.

Deed theft occurs when a person fraudulently takes title to another person’s home, often through forgery, misleading documents, foreclosure rescue scams, or other deceptive conduct. Reporting cited by both the USA Today and The New York Times states that complaints increased in recent years. City and state officials point to Brooklyn and Queens as areas of particular concern.

The office will focus on early detection, homeowner education, legal referrals, coordination with law enforcement, and possible city and state legislative proposals. According to THE CITY, Peter White stated that the office may help homeowners determine whether a dispute involves deed theft or another property issue, especially in complicated cases involving heirs, conservatorships, or competing ownership claims. The office’s initial funding reportedly totals $500,000 for the current fiscal year and $1 million for future years.

For mortgage servicers and investors, the development may matter because deed theft allegations often intersect with title history, foreclosure rescue claims, heir disputes, eviction activity, and documentation questions. The office does not appear to change servicing law by itself, but its creation may increase scrutiny around distressed properties, suspicious transfers, and cases where ownership history affects enforcement, loss mitigation, or foreclosure strategy.

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If you have questions about this publication, please contact Adam Friedman, Ralph Vartolo or Michael DeRosa,
Friedman Vartolo LLP, 1325 Franklin Avenue, Suite 160, Garden City, NY 11530, Phone: (212) 471-5100 | Fax: (212) 471-5150.