STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9763 IN ASSEMBLY April 4, 2024 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DAIS -- (at request of the Attorney General) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, the penal law and the execu- tive law, in relation to deed theft The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of the criminal procedure 2 law is amended by adding a new paragraph (h) to read as follows: 3 (h) A prosecution for any felony related to a deed theft or where 4 there is fraud in connection with a transaction involving real property 5 must be commenced within five years after the commission of the crime, 6 or within two years after the facts constituting such offense are 7 discovered by the aggrieved party, whichever occurs later. 8 § 2. Section 155.00 of the penal law is amended by adding six new 9 subdivisions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 to read as follows: 10 11. "Residential real property" or any derivative word thereof shall 11 have the same meaning as defined in subdivision three of section 187.00 12 of this part. 13 12. "Commercial property" or any derivative word thereof shall mean a 14 nonresidential property used for the buying, selling or otherwise 15 providing of goods or services including hotel services, or for other 16 lawful business, commercial or manufacturing activities. 17 13. "Mixed-use property" shall have the same meaning as defined in 18 subdivision twenty-two of section four hundred eighty-nine-aaaa of the 19 real property tax law. 20 14. "Incompetent" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 21 1-2.9 of the estates, powers and trusts law. 22 15. "Incapacitated person" shall mean a person who, because of mental 23 disability as defined in subdivision three of section 1.03 of the mental 24 hygiene law or mental deficiency, is unable to care for their own prop- 25 erty and/or personal needs, and is likely to suffer harm because such 26 person is unable to understand and appreciate the nature and conse- 27 quences of not being able to care for their property and/or personal 28 needs. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07601-14-4
A. 9763 2 1 16. "Elderly person" means a person sixty years of age or older. 2 § 3. Subparagraph (ix) of paragraph (e) and paragraph (f) of subdivi- 3 sion 2 of section 155.05 of the penal law, paragraph (f) as added by 4 chapter 353 of the laws of 2023, are amended and a new paragraph (g) is 5 added to read as follows: 6 (ix) Perform any other act which would not in itself materially bene- 7 fit the actor but which is calculated to harm another person materially 8 with respect to his or her health, safety, business, calling, career, 9 financial condition, reputation or personal relationships[.]; or 10 (f) By wage theft. 11 A person obtains property by wage theft when he or she hires a person 12 to perform services and the person performs such services and the person 13 does not pay wages, at the minimum wage rate and overtime, or promised 14 wage, if greater than the minimum wage rate and overtime, to said person 15 for work performed. In a prosecution for wage theft, for the purposes of 16 venue, it is permissible to aggregate all nonpayments or underpayments 17 to one person from one person, into one larceny count, even if the 18 nonpayments or underpayments occurred in multiple counties. It is also 19 permissible to aggregate nonpayments or underpayments from a workforce 20 into one larceny count even if such nonpayments or underpayments 21 occurred in multiple counties[.]; or 22 (g) By deed theft. 23 A person commits deed theft when he or she: 24 (i) intentionally alters, falsifies, forges, or misrepresents a prop- 25 erty document such as a residential or commercial deed or title, with 26 the intent to deceive, defraud or unlawfully transfer or encumber the 27 ownership rights of a residential or commercial property; or 28 (ii) with intent to defraud, misrepresents themselves as the owner or 29 authorized representative of residential or commercial real property to 30 induce others to rely on such false information in order to obtain 31 ownership or possession of such real property; or 32 (iii) with intent to defraud, takes, obtains, steals, or transfers 33 title or ownership of real property by fraud, forgery, larceny, or any 34 other fraudulent or deceptive practice. 35 § 4. Section 155.35 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 464 of the 36 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 37 § 155.35 Grand larceny in the third degree. 38 A person is guilty of grand larceny in the third degree when he or she 39 steals property and: 40 1. when the value of the property exceeds three thousand dollars, or 41 2. the property is an automated teller machine or the contents of an 42 automated teller machine[.], or 43 3. when such person commits deed theft of one commercial real proper- 44 ty, regardless of the value. 45 Grand larceny in the third degree is a class D felony. 46 § 5. Section 155.40 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 515 of the 47 laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows: 48 § 155.40 Grand larceny in the second degree. 49 A person is guilty of grand larceny in the second degree when he or 50 she steals property and when: 51 1. The value of the property exceeds fifty thousand dollars; or 52 2. The property, regardless of its nature and value, is obtained by 53 extortion committed by instilling in the victim a fear that the actor or 54 another person will (a) cause physical injury to some person in the 55 future, or (b) cause damage to property, or (c) use or abuse his or her 56 position as a public servant by engaging in conduct within or related to
A. 9763 3 1 his or her official duties, or by failing or refusing to perform an 2 official duty, in such manner as to affect some person adversely[.]; or 3 3. Such person commits deed theft, regardless of the value, of: (a) 4 one residential real property; or (b) one commercial mixed-use property 5 with at least one residential unit; or (c) two or more commercial prop- 6 erties. 7 Grand larceny in the second degree is a class C felony. 8 § 6. Section 155.42 of the penal law, as added by chapter 515 of the 9 laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows: 10 § 155.42 Grand larceny in the first degree. 11 A person is guilty of grand larceny in the first degree when: 12 1. he or she steals property and when the value of the property 13 exceeds one million dollars[.]; or 14 2. such person commits deed theft, regardless of the value, of (a) 15 residential real property that is occupied as a home by at least one 16 person; or (b) residential real property that involves a home that is 17 owned by an elderly person, an incompetent, an incapacitated person, or 18 physically disabled person; or (c) three or more residential real prop- 19 erties. 20 Grand larceny in the first degree is a class B felony. 21 § 7. Subdivision 3 of section 187.00 of the penal law, as amended by 22 chapter 507 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 23 3. "Residential real property" means real property that is used or 24 occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, wholly or partly, as the 25 home or residence of one or more persons, including real property that 26 is improved by a one-to-four family dwelling, or a residential unit in a 27 building including units owned as condominiums or on a cooperative 28 basis, used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, wholly or 29 partly, as the home or residence of one or more persons, but shall not 30 refer to unimproved real property upon which such dwellings are to be 31 constructed. 32 § 8. Section 63 of the executive law is amended by adding a new subdi- 33 vision 17 to read as follows: 34 17. The attorney general may investigate and prosecute every person or 35 entity charged with the commission of a criminal offense in violation of 36 the laws of this state applicable to any crime that affects the title 37 to, encumbrance of, or the possession of real property, including but 38 not limited to deed theft, larceny, criminal possession of stolen prop- 39 erty, offering a false instrument for filing, falsifying business 40 records, residential mortgage fraud, or scheme to defraud. In all such 41 proceedings, the attorney general may appear in person or by his or her 42 deputy before any court of record or any grand jury and exercise all the 43 powers and perform all the duties in respect of such actions or 44 proceedings which the district attorney would otherwise be authorized or 45 required to exercise or perform. 46 § 9. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 47 have become a law.