BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A disbarred Brooklyn attorney has been convicted of stealing the deeds to 11 residential properties in a decade-long real estate fraud scheme that targeted minority homeowners facing foreclosure, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Sanford Solny, 68, of Midwood, was found guilty of 13 counts of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, three counts of first-degree scheme to defraud, and one count of third-degree grand larceny. The convictions follow a bench trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun. Solny now faces mandatory prison time, with sentencing set for September 17.
According to prosecutors, Solny posed as a financial expert offering foreclosure assistance to homeowners between 2012 and 2022. He claimed to be facilitating short sales with lenders but instead used false representations to trick property owners into signing over their deeds to corporations he controlled.
The court also convicted 11 companies owned by Solny — one for each property — on related charges. Solny was acquitted on charges tied to one additional property and certain other charges related to the 11 properties.
Victims lost homes, equity and financial stability
Most of the victims, including a nurse, cab driver, and home health aide, were facing foreclosure and had limited legal or financial literacy. Prosecutors said they were misled into believing Solny was helping them save their homes, but instead he gained ownership and, in some cases, began collecting rent from existing tenants.
The stolen properties were located across Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, Canarsie, East New York and Ocean Hill.
Solny’s law license was suspended in 2012 and he was formally disbarred in 2023. As a predicate felon, he faces up to seven years in prison on the top charge.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said since 2017 it has brought 30 indictments involving 42 defendants in deed theft cases involving over 70 properties. All but five of those cases have resulted in convictions.