After Councilman Arrest, NYC Mayor Mamdani Creates Office to Fight Deed Theft

Two days after New York police arrested a city councilman protesting the planned eviction one of his constituents alleging “deed theft,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani created an office in city government to combat the form of fraud where property ownership is illegally transferred without consent.

Deed theft often involves forgery, such as when a scammer fakes a homeowner’s signature and then files a fake deed with the county clerk. It can also happen if a homeowner unknowingly signs the deed over to a scammer. The practice often targets elderly home owners or homes where the owner has died and the family did not transfer the title.

Now City Hall will have an office to help prevent such fraud.

“City Hall will use the full extent of our power to protect those who have been left to struggle alone for so long. Every New Yorker should be able to realize the benefits of their labor, of their investments,” said the mayor, speaking from the Brooklyn Bank.

Mamdani appointed Peter White as the director of the city’s first Office of Deed Theft Prevention.

White, who works on foreclosure prevention at pro bono legal service provider Access Justice, said the new office would focus on identifying, preventing, correcting cases of deed fraud.

“Deed theft is amorphous, pernicious, and consistent in many working class communities and neighborhoods of color,” he said.

The office will be funded with $500,000 this year and the $1 million going forward and will increase as the office grows.

The incident where New York City Council Member Chi Ossé was taken down and handcuffed by police was posted on TikTok. In a second post, Ossé explained his reason for being there was because he wanted to make sure his client would have due process before an eviction could proceed.

The protesters alleged that the resident, Carmella Charrington, had lived for decades in the Bedford-Stuyvesant property where city marshals were slated to execute an eviction.

According to the office of New York Attorney General, from 2013 to 2023 there were more than 3,500 complaints of deed theft in New York City. In 2025 alone there were 517 complaints. The city Department of Finance reported only 85 incidents from July 2024 to June 2025.

In 2023, at the encouragement of Attorney General Letitia James, the New York State Legislature passed a law making deed theft a crime, empowering law enforcement to stop such fraud and put a 90 stay on eviction orders in cases of deed fraud.

“I have sat with families who thought they were secure, who did everything right, and then suddenly they found themselves fighting to keep the only home they have ever known. I have seen the fear, I have seen the confusion, I have seen the heartbreak,” said James, who explained that the problem particularly affects central Brooklyn and Southeast Queens, but is also found across the state from Buffalo and Syracuse, to Long Island.

“I really want to acknowledge this mayor for taking a step, for putting the money where his mouth is and opening this office,” said Ossé.