Brooklyn Attorney Indicted In $7.8M Real Estate Scheme, DA Says

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn attorney who has been scamming homeowners out of millions of dollars for more than eight years has been caught by authorities, prosecutors announced Monday.

Sanford Solny, 63, was arraigned Monday on a 63-count indictment for the $7.8-million scheme. He is accused of stealing the deeds to eight Brooklyn homes under the guise of helping homeowners get out of foreclosure, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.

"Brooklyn’s valuable real estate market continues to be an attractive target for fraudsters willing to deceive homeowners," District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "These victims, who trusted the defendant to help them avoid foreclosure, instead allegedly had their homes stolen by him and were left facing financial ruin."

According to prosecutors, Sanford, who had his law license suspended in 2012, would have unlicensed brokers or other people contact the victims and refer them to him to negotiate what is known as a "short sale" for their homes, all of which were in foreclosure.

A short sale allows a homeowner to sell their property to someone else under terms approved by a lender in return for dropping the foreclosure and forgiving the loan amount they owe.

But instead of negotiating the sale, Sanford would have the homeowners sign over their deeds to him, either by having them sign documents he claimed were part of the short sale process or by telling them giving him the deed was necessary to start the negotiations, prosectors said.

"There is no record of the defendant attempting to negotiate a short sale with any of the lenders on the properties," prosectors said.

Sanford held onto the deeds for months and even years, giving an "array of excuses and explanations" every time the homeowners would ask him about the negotiations, prosecutors said.

He even told one family that they needed to vacate the property for the sale to occur and, across the eight properties, brought in $600,000 in rent from existing tenants or those he brought in, according to prosecutors.

The eight properties — including homes in Bed-Stuy, Cypress Hills, Flatbush and East New York — were worth a total of $7.8 million.

"As record owner, if any of the properties were to be sold, the defendant would also benefit from the increase in value accrued over the last several years," prosecutors said.

The scheme left the homeowners with deteriorating credit scores and, because the properties were still in foreclosure, made it nearly impossible to get new loans, prosecutors said.

Solny was charged with second-and fourth-degree grand larceny, first-degree scheme to defraud, and first- and second-degree criminal possession of stolen property. He was released without bail and ordered to return to court on February 4, 2021.

"I urge anyone considering selling their property to be prudent about with whom they do business," Gonzalez said. "Be wary of any unsolicited offers of help with your property and do not sign any documents unless you consult with an independently retained attorney.”

Patch left a message at Solny's office for comment.