Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Do We Need A Title Theft Statute?

By Stewart E. Sterk
July 01, 2023

Recent years have seen numerous reports of what has colloquially been called "property theft" or "deed theft" in New York. The state Attorney General has championed a statute, now introduced in the state legislature, making "Property Theft" a crime. Would the statute be helpful? Answering that question requires some background.

No one is physically staling recorded deeds. Instead, the chicanery falls into two basic patterns, with variations. In the first pattern, the true owner of the property plays no role in the illegitimate transfer of title, and may be completely unaware of the supposed theft. A forger locates a property, typically with an absentee owner (sometimes the heir of the previous owner), and prepares a deed on the owner's behalf, and then uses fake identification papers to present the deed to a notary for notarization, which enables recording of the deed. At that point, the forger is ready to resell the property or to seek mortgage financing on the security of the property.

The second pattern involves a predator who targets an owner in financial distress, generally because the owner cannot make the mortgage payments. The wrongdoer then has the owner sign a deed, representing that the deed is necessary to arrange a short sale that will relieve the owner of mortgage obligations, or perhaps representing that the document is a loan document rather than a deed. The owner then signs the document, which the wrongdoer then uses to his advantage.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York Image

In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?

The Benefits of Blockchain for e-Discovery and Data Preservation Image

As businesses across various industries increasingly adopt blockchain, it will become a critical source of discoverable electronically stored information. The potential benefits of blockchain for e-discovery and data preservation are substantial, making it an area of growing interest and importance.