Sanford Solny, the disbarred attorney convicted of stealing 11 properties from predominantly Black and Brown homeowners facing foreclosure, appeared in a Downtown Brooklyn courtroom on Oct. 22, for his scheduled sentencing but he has not been sentenced for his crimes — yet.
Sentencing was postponed until November 12. This latest delay is just one in a series of court holdups for Solny’s case, which has seen indictments linger in Queens and Brooklyn for more than a decade.
Solny, 68, is currently in custody for violating his probation in Queens, where he was convicted in 2018 for stealing 10 homes. His defense attorney tried to keep him from serving jail time by citing Solny’s age and health issues, and arguing that jailing him before the Yom Kippur holiday would be insensitive.
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Sanford Solny, who’s been convicted of stealing 11 properties, is led out of a Brooklyn courtroom on Oct. 22. Photo credit: Karen Juanita Carrillo photos -
Solny’s supporters turned out in large numbers to show their support and stand by him. Photo credit: Karen Juanita Carrillo photos
Deed theft victims who attended the Oct. 22 hearing said they were angry about Solny’s latest delay. They also voiced criticism of Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Joseph DiBenedetto for advising them not to appear in court because the case was going to be postponed. When they showed up at court anyway, Samantha Barrow, an advocate for deed theft victims, said they were “shocked to see the large number of people who had arrived to support Solny.”
Barrow, who is with the People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft, said, “We needed to be here because [the victims] needed to be on record with [their] statement.”
Oren Yaniv, communications director for Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, explained that this new delay in Solny’s case was necessary because a probation officer had not yet finished Solny’s presentence report, which would give the judge information about Solny’s background and criminal history.
In its sentencing letter to the judge, DA Gonzalez’s office pointed out previous court agreements in Solny’s case: “Under the Court’s earlier promises to the defendant, the maximum he now faces is a term of three and a half to seven years in prison. We acknowledge the Court is bound by its promises and will sentence the defendant accordingly. Absent these constraints, we would have emphatically recommended a sentence of seven to eighteen years in prison.”
Courthouse confrontation
Dozens of men and women from the Orthodox Jewish community showed up to support Solny on Oct. 22. When they did, they found themselves in a standoff with Solny’s victims.
Solny’s supporters wore “I support Solny” badges and crowded into the hallway leading to the courtroom. At one point, they started singing and chanting. They were met by vocal members of the People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft, who — wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “End the cycle – Stop deed theft – It is a crime” — turned to them and began demanding, “Stop deed theft! Stop deed theft! Stop deed theft!”
Court officers had to calm everyone in the hallway and warn that any outbursts in the courtroom would lead to removal from the building.
Inside the courtroom, Solny’s supporters outnumbered his victims. After Solny’s lawyer successfully pushed for his sentencing postponement, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny K. Chun allowed at least one victim to deliver an impact statement.
Lisa Abbott, who traveled from out of state to attend the hearing, told the court about the turmoil she faced when she lost her three-family Bed-Stuy home at 53 Van Buren Street to Solny.
She was trying to care for her mother and rent out part of her house for extra income but fell behind on her mortgage. Solny’s company was recommended to her as a place that could help her do a short sale on the house and avoid losing everything. But instead of signing papers for a short sale, Solny tricked her into signing over her deed, she said. Abbott remained liable for the mortgage while Solny rented out the property for income. Abbott’s credit was destroyed as the property went into foreclosure, and since she no longer had the deed in her name, she couldn’t stop the bank from taking the house.
She told the court it took time for her to recover from the emotional and psychological toll of Solny’s crimes, but now she was able to make a promise to Solny: “I stand here not as a victim, but as a survivor who survived your acts of evil,” she said. “What you took from me, I got it back. You took my peace; I got it back. You took my dignity; I got it back. You took my sleep; I got it back. You took my confidence; I got it back. I am standing here telling you you took all these things from me, and I got it back.”
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