Overview
- The city launched the Office of Deed Theft Prevention on Friday, appointing Access Justice Brooklyn attorney Peter White to lead it.
- The unit will flag suspicious deed filings, share data across agencies, and run homeowner outreach to curb a problem that drew 517 complaints last year, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens.
- The office sits within the Department of Finance and will coordinate with the Sheriff’s Office, Housing Preservation and Development, Consumer and Worker Protection, and the Commission on Human Rights.
- With $500,000 budgeted this year and $1 million going forward, the office expects to rely on the state attorney general, local district attorneys, and pro bono lawyers to pursue cases.
- The announcement followed Councilmember Chi Ossé’s arrest at a Bed-Stuy eviction protest, though the attorney general said that dispute was a property matter rather than deed theft.