DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A DISBARRED ATTORNEY WHO STOLE THE DEEDS of homeowners facing foreclosure was convicted in a bench trial with Brooklyn State Supreme Judge Danny Chun presiding, Kings County District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Thursday, June 5.
The defendant, Sanford Solny, who is now 68, had already been disbarred when charged in early 2023 with deed theft, according to prior coverage in the Brooklyn Eagle. He falsely promised to help facilitate short sales (in which a home’s sale price is less than the amount owed on a mortgage) but instead transferred ownership of the homes to himself or companies he controlled.
Targeting minority clients in neighborhoods such as Bed-Stuy, East Flatbush, Canarsie and East New York, Solny presented himself as a financial expert who could negotiate with lenders in short sales to avoid foreclosures. Instead, using an array of false statements, he tricked 15 victims, many lacking financial literacy, into unwittingly signing over their deeds to corporations he controlled, and causing them to lose their credit, equity and stability.
As a predicate felon (having prior convictions), the defendant is facing mandatory prison time when he’s sentenced on Sept. 17, 2025, with the maximum sentence for the top count he was convicted of being three-and-a-half to seven years in prison.
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