A disbarred Brooklyn attorney has been sentenced to two and a half to seven years in prison after a decade-long scheme in which he swindled the deeds from 11 residential properties in Brooklyn. Sanford Solny, 68, targeted primarily minority homeowners in financial distress by offering to assist them with short sales, but instead transferred the properties to himself or his companies. The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office provided details on the conviction and sentencing, noting that Solny also reaped profits by collecting rent from some of the properties involved.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez expressed that Solny "deserves every day he will now spend behind bars," as reported by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. Gonzalez was unyielding in his stance against the fraudulent actions which stripped victims of their homes and financial stability, leading to severe financial harm. According to Gonzalez, the office has been proactive in prosecuting such cases to prevent further exploitation of homeowners by similar schemes.
In addition to his prison term, Solny's corporations were slapped with $120,000 in fines. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun nullified the deeds to the 11 properties, which were held by corporations under Solny's control. The prosecution had aimed for a harsher sentence, but the judge had already determined the final sentencing during the verdict.
Solny's operation ran between 2012 and 2022, during which he presented as a financial adviser capable to help negotiate short sales for homeowners facing foreclosure, according to details from the District Attorney's office. Instead, he manipulated his victims—many with limited legal or financial literacy—into unwittingly signing over their homes. The properties, spread across neighborhoods such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, Canarsie, East New York and Ocean Hill, represented more than just assets; they were the foundation of livelihoods and legacies for the affected families.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office has tallied 30 indictments against 42 defendants, relating to more than 70 properties, in deed theft cases since 2017. All cases resulted in convictions, save for five that are still pending. This relentless prosecution effort has contributed to a sharp decline in deed fraud complaints to the city's Department of Finance by Brooklyn residents. Senior Assistant District Attorney Joseph DiBenedetto and Assistant District Attorney Gregory C. Pavlides led the prosecution, with the support of their teams in the Frauds Bureau and the Investigations Division.
