Senate passes measure tightening notary recordkeeping to fight deed fraud after floor debate

The New York State Senate on March 18 passed legislation identified as Title 532, Senate print 51 77 (sponsor: Senator Comrie), amending the executive law to strengthen notary recordkeeping and aid prosecutions of deed-fraud schemes, after an extended floor exchange between proponents and opponents.

Senator Leroy Comrie argued the bill was necessary to combat a wave of “deep theft” deed-fraud schemes he said district attorneys are encountering, citing a recent release from Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz about falsified documents and false filings recorded with city registers. Comrie said improved notary records would make it easier for prosecutors to follow fraudulent filings and protect homeowners, especially seniors.

Senator Kenzie Fitzpatrick (recorded in the transcript as objecting) said she is an attorney with three decades of practice and expressed skepticism that the bill will solve the problem. Fitzpatrick said fraudsters can forge notaries' signatures and that imposing more recordkeeping would disproportionately burden legitimate notaries. She also cited a New York State Bar Association report that, she said, warned against placing additional burdens on notaries.

Senator John Bailey spoke in favor of the bill, saying while it is not a panacea, additional tools are necessary to prevent seniors and others from losing generational wealth to fraudsters. Bailey said he preferred potential burdens on notaries to continuing large-scale losses of property among vulnerable homeowners.

The bill passed. The roll-call announcement listed a set of senators voting in the negative, read from the floor transcript as: Galligan, Bridal, Oberacher, O'Mara, Rhodes, Disco, and Walls. The measure was recorded as passed on the Senate floor March 18.