Disbarred attorney Sanford Solny has finally been sentenced for his crimes after being convicted in June of crimes that include possessing stolen property, three counts of first-degree scheme to defraud, and theft of 11 properties.
On November 12, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun sentenced Solny to two and a half to seven years in prison. The judge ordered the 11 stolen deeds he stole to be nullified, which should allow the homeowners to reclaim their properties. However, he did not order Solny to return the nearly $500,000 in rent he collected by stealing the homes.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office stated it would have recommended a sentence of seven to 18 years in prison for Solny. “This defendant is a serial scammer who deserves every day he will now spend behind bars,” Gonzalez said. “He stole valuable homes, as well as the financial stability and integrity of his victims, leaving many in financial ruins. My office investigated, tried, and convicted this defendant, holding him accountable and returning the stolen deeds to their rightful owners.:”
From 2012 to 2022, Solny stole 11 properties in Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, Canarsie, East New York, and Ocean Hill, primarily from Black and Brown homeowners facing foreclosure. Posing as a financial adviser, he promised to help the owners sell their homes for less than what was owed on them, but instead transferred ownership to himself or his companies, and collected rent for years. His victims lost their homes and equity, and had their credit destroyed because of unresolved foreclosures.
Community impact and courtroom drama
A member of the People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft, who asked to remain anonymous, said she and others were surprised by the large turnout of Solny supporters at the court. Brooklyn-based members of the Hasidic Jewish community packed the courtroom, along with supporters who traveled all the way from Israel to show their support for the disgraced attorney.
“It was shocking, honestly, to be sitting there and hearing the other side say, ‘Oh, he’s a good man. Oh, these aren’t important victims; they knew what they were doing.’ But at the same time, saying, ‘Oh, this man was disbarred for doing predatory acts,’” the Coalition member told the AmNews.
She was one of the few people able to enter the courtroom. Although the court case was scheduled to start after 2:30 p.m., Solny’s victims and supporters arrived at 1 p.m. to secure seats. So many people arrived for the hearing that more than 20 court officers came out to block the hallway outside the courtroom, citing overcrowding. They told people who wanted to be present for the court’s decision to wait on the 17th floor or outside, in front of the courthouse building.
“They first told me I had to go somewhere else, and then I went live and started filming,” noted Imani Henry, founder and lead organizer of the police accountability, anti-gentrification, and anti-displacement organization Equality for Flatbush (E4F). Henry was told he could go to another floor or wait for the decision downstairs, but after he started filming, he said someone in authority clarified that more waiting areas were available. “I said, ‘You’re telling me I can’t come in? You have all these police for this when this is a public event, a public courtroom. Why are you telling people they can’t come in?’ And then they said, ‘Oh, no, you can come into the waiting area.’”
Solny’s victims were not permitted to deliver impact statements during the court proceedings. Instead, if they had their statements written down, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office was allowed to read them into the record.
When Solny made his own statement to the court, he did not apologize to his victims. He thanked all his supporters who showed up, and thanked his wife, friends, and the rabbis who came, but did not mention the impact he had on his victims.
The broader crisis: deed theft in Brooklyn
E4F’s Henry explained that the fraud Solny committed is in line with what many Black and Brown homeowners in New York City are experiencing. A 2025 National Association of Realtors survey found that 92% of real estate agents were aware of title or deed theft in the Northeast, making it the region most affected by this type of crime. In New York City, more than 3,000 deed thefts were reported between 2014 and 2019; 45% of those complaints were in Brooklyn’s gentrifying neighborhoods.
As many neighborhoods in the Five Boroughs gentrify, developers often harass local homeowners who frequently don’t know how to respond. Organizations like E4F and the People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft have mobilized to support victims, raise awareness, and demand accountability from city officials and law enforcement.
“We’ve been working with homeowners dealing with deed fraud, theft, and adjacent public property destruction since 2016,” Henry said. “Mainly Black homeowners, and frankly, Black and Brown women homeowners, [although] white homeowners, too, have had predatory developers buy property next to them and then do everything possible to destroy the infrastructure. The developer comes and paints one side of your brownstone black; puts in a handrail without permission; hoists debris, toilets, and bathtubs in front of your property; and more. We’ve seen developers do everything—from terrorizing children to bringing a county sheriff to your door, saying, ‘You need to sell to this person.’ We’ve had to develop a list of predatory lawyers because, again, many lawyers, particularly those representing homeowners, are the ones helping deliver properties to developers.”
One of the first things every homeowner needs to know is whom not to turn to for help. E4F’s list of predatory lawyers labels attorneys who tenants, homeowners, small business owners, and even other attorneys claim are untrustworthy and more likely to profit from their clients’ loss of property.
The organization asks homeowners who need help to contact them via email at b4g@equalityforflatbush.org or by phone at 646-820-6039.
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