DEED DISPUTES AND DEED FRAUD

Deed fraud happens when a fraudulent deed is recorded against a property. In many cases, the owner may not even be aware that a fraudulent deed was recorded. In other circumstances, deceptive practices are used to convince homeowners to sign forms that purport to be applications for financial assistance but instead transfers ownership of property interest. These fraudsters also deceive banks into approving the sale of homes by providing falsified documents, including paperwork that is modified or completed after homeowners have signed them.

Deed disputes also arise between friends and family members claiming that a transfer of ownership interest in property was intended to be a temporary measure to facilitate financing for a distressed homeowner. Accordingly, distressed homeowners sometimes “sell” or transfer their interest in property to a trusted friend or relative, with a superior credit rating, to facilitate the acquisition of financing from a bank, usually with the promise that the friend or family member will transfer the property back to the original homeowner at a later date. When this reconveyance does not occur, a deed dispute arises.

Deed fraud and deed disputes have become rampant in gentrifying sections of New York City, especially in Brooklyn. Of the nearly 3,000 deed fraud complaints recorded by New York City between 2014 and 2020, 1,350 — about 45 percent — have come from Brooklyn, according to data compiled by the city’s Department of Finance.

McKinley Onua, a native Brooklyn firm, has handled hundreds of cases involving deed fraud or disputes. Our lawyers are trained to extract the sometimes-intricate factual details of a case that can reveal the true intended owner of property. Our office has even submitted acquired evidence to judges and district attorneys’ offices that have prompted criminal investigations into deed theft.