Notorious deed thief Sanford Solny is in jail after allegedly violating his probation.
On Tuesday, Solny was remanded to custody during a probation hearing in Queens, the New York Times reported. The 68-year-old is expected to remain in jail until the court’s adjournment concludes in a little more than a month.
Solny was sentenced to five years of probation in 2019 after pleading guilty to possession of stolen property. He allegedly violated that probation within months after committing another deed theft.Â
This summer, Solny was convicted of stealing 11 homes. He was allowed to be free ahead of his sentencing in the case, which is expected to unfold in Brooklyn this month.
It appears Solny wasn’t expecting to be taken to jail when he attended his probation hearing, since he did not have his medicine for high blood pressure in hand, according to one of his lawyers. He added that it was insensitive for him to be taken into custody directly before Yom Kippur.
Solny was known to lure owners in by offering to arrange a short sale, where owners in financial distress sell their home under lender-approved terms for less than they owe on their mortgage. In return, the lender drops the foreclosure action and forgives the balance of the mortgage. After the short sale, however, Solny’s victims — often Black or Latino families — would emerge still carrying debt.
Solny would also tell homeowners that lenders required them to vacate a property for a short sale to occur. They would vacate and he would transfer the deed to himself and start collecting rent on existing tenants or those he brought in.
When the tricked owners would ask what was happening with the sale, he would allegedly tell them negotiations were pending.
Deed theft is challenging to prosecute, as intent needs to be shown and victims typically sign legally-binding documents, allowing perpetrators to frame schemes as legal business deals.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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