AG James Nails First Criminal Conviction Under NY Home Equity Theft Protection Act

Recently, a New York real estate agent pleaded guilty in a deed theft case. Yes, a real estate agent. Oscar Dais used to be a real estate agent in Rockland County, New York.

But no more. Oscar Dais admitted to a property theft that involved falsely signing a deed to his own company, while pretending to be the legitimate homeowner.

If that weren’t attention-grabbing enough, there’s more. This is Attorney General Letitia James’s first criminal conviction under a law we’ve been watching for a while: New York’s Home Equity Theft Protection Act (HETPA).

Targeted: A Struggling Mortgage Borrower in Rockland County, New York

Deed theft happens whenever one party conveys a real estate deed to another party without the knowledge and voluntary consent of the property’s legitimate owner.

This is exactly what happened when, four years ago, a real estate agent forged Monique Hill’s signature on a deed. With that flourish of a pen, the agent managed to take away a home from a New Yorker who was going through a drawn-out foreclosure process.

To create the falsified paperwork, the real estate agent copied the deed and signed it, using Hill’s prior last name. The agent included a false notarization on the document. Once recorded, the deed was then signed over to a company run by the forger.

Then, the forger had the new phony deed recorded in Rockland County, New York. This officially took Hill off her deed.

Conveniently for the deed thief, Hill was away. She had no idea about the manipulation that was going on at the time.

But by October 2021, two months after the fraudulent filing, Hill knew what had happened. So she filed a (still active) civil suit against real estate agent Oscar Dais.

She also took the matter to A.G. James’ office. That would prove to be a major moment in a courtroom in Rockland County, and in New York legal history, too.

In late September 2025, Dais pleaded guilty to a HETPA violation.

First Use of NY Law Singling Out Deed Theft as a Crime

The case involved numerous investigators and law enforcement officials. Some even helped from out of state. It now stands as the first criminal conviction under New York State’s HETPA law.

HETPA protects homeowners who are in the process of selling a home after having defaulted on a mortgage loan. Often, such homes are targeted for purchase by investor-buyers.

Under HETPA, the struggling sellers have a right to cancel their sales. HETPA also stops the investors from using misleading tactics to acquire deeds.

Back in April 2023, the new law was proposed, naming the crime of deed theft. The intent of the law, supported by the Attorney General, was to (a) open a path to prosecuting the culprits and (b) create remedies for the victims. Before that, deed theft was not specifically named as a crime in the state of New York.

By June 2023, New York lawmakers enacted the law, establishing the crime of deed theft. With this law, the Attorney General’s office can prosecute deed thieves directly, with no referral necessary.

For several years, Attorney General James has worked on making HETPA as robust as possible. In this case, the convicted person must pay restitution to his victim. Also, the forged deed will be considered void. Because of the new law, Hill’s share of the proceeds from her home now belong to her once again.

This is a big deal. In most states, once a deed is signed away, it can be extremely difficult to restore ownership to the victimized person or household. This is especially true of properties that are resold once they’re stolen. By default, unsuspecting buyers have been classified as good faith purchasers who get to keep a deed that’s been stolen from an innocent victim.

Insurance coverage for deed fraud is a thing. So, if you’re getting a deed in the future, you might wish to check the benefits of an extended title insurance policy.

Setting a New Standard—Watch for Other States to Follow

Several states are out in front on the matter of deed theft. Today’s deed holders are more vulnerable than ever before because of all the cutting-edge technology enabling the copying and manipulation of legal documents. New York is showing how legislation can help make victims whole again.

And there are some added protections in the Homeowner Equity Theft Prevention Act:

• The new law flags homes in the records when prosecutors believe these specific deeds are being manipulated. This way, real estate professionals and unsuspecting potential buyers will be tipped off.

• The new law allows the target to recover the home — even if a deed thief has already passed the property along to a new buyer.
• The new law lets victimized people exercise the right to recover their deeds — by voiding the bad deed, or initiating quiet title actions.
• The new law puts holds on evictions for people who can show that they might have lost their deeds through fraud.  
• The law has been expanded to void home sales where there are active utility liens as well as sales of homes in tax lien sales and foreclosure sales.

Related to the legislation are a number of policy reforms underway in New York State:

The state is amending its fraud laws to give the targets of deed scams more time to find out that they’ve been attacked and seek justice. New York’s statute of limitations will run eight years — three years longer than the historical time limit on addressing the loss of property.

The Attorney General’s office has also formed the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP). It’s been in existence for five years now, and specifically works to eradicate deed theft. New York runs educational sessions for deed holders, so people are prepared to act in self-defense.

Creating a Model to Follow

Why do states need to take this kind of action? Because if they do not, profit-seekers fill the legal vacuum. A number of companies have arisen to sell “title lock” services of dubious value.

What do deed holders really need? Real, enforceable deed protections. Simple methods of deed recovery when a deed thief succeeds in recording a bad deed.

Now, in New York State, deed holders are receiving these protections.

New York’s new law can effectively deter a wide range of deed forgery and predatory investment schemes. In doing so, New York’s model has received the support of housing advocates. Its new anti-fraud provisions are held up as exemplary by the Homeowner Stability Project at the City Bar Justice Center, among others.  

Pennsylvania and other states are taking note.