S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9763
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               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:

   Section  1.  Subdivision  3 of section 30.10 of the criminal procedure
 law is amended by adding a new paragraph (h) to read as follows:
   (H) A PROSECUTION FOR ANY FELONY RELATED TO  A  DEED  THEFT  OR  WHERE
 THERE  IS FRAUD IN CONNECTION WITH A TRANSACTION INVOLVING REAL PROPERTY
 MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN FIVE YEARS AFTER THE COMMISSION OF  THE  CRIME,
 OR  WITHIN  TWO  YEARS  AFTER  THE  FACTS  CONSTITUTING SUCH OFFENSE ARE
 DISCOVERED BY THE AGGRIEVED PARTY, WHICHEVER OCCURS LATER.
   § 2. Section 155.00 of the penal law is  amended  by  adding  six  new
 subdivisions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 to read as follows:
   11.  "RESIDENTIAL  REAL PROPERTY" OR ANY DERIVATIVE WORD THEREOF SHALL
 HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION  187.00
 OF THIS PART.
   12.  "COMMERCIAL PROPERTY" OR ANY DERIVATIVE WORD THEREOF SHALL MEAN A
 NONRESIDENTIAL PROPERTY  USED  FOR  THE  BUYING,  SELLING  OR  OTHERWISE
 PROVIDING  OF  GOODS  OR SERVICES INCLUDING HOTEL SERVICES, OR FOR OTHER
 LAWFUL BUSINESS, COMMERCIAL OR MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES.
   13. "MIXED-USE PROPERTY" SHALL HAVE THE SAME  MEANING  AS  DEFINED  IN
 SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-TWO  OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-NINE-AAAA OF THE
 REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW.
   14. "INCOMPETENT" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION
 1-2.9 OF THE ESTATES, POWERS AND TRUSTS LAW.
   15.  "INCAPACITATED PERSON" SHALL MEAN A PERSON WHO, BECAUSE OF MENTAL
 DISABILITY AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION 1.03 OF THE MENTAL
 HYGIENE LAW OR MENTAL DEFICIENCY, IS UNABLE TO CARE FOR THEIR OWN  PROP-
 ERTY  AND/OR  PERSONAL  NEEDS, AND IS LIKELY TO SUFFER HARM BECAUSE SUCH
 PERSON IS UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND  APPRECIATE  THE  NATURE  AND  CONSE-
 QUENCES  OF  NOT  BEING  ABLE TO CARE FOR THEIR PROPERTY AND/OR PERSONAL
 NEEDS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07601-14-4
 A. 9763                             2
 
   16. "ELDERLY PERSON" MEANS A PERSON SIXTY YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER.
   §  3. Subparagraph (ix) of paragraph (e) and paragraph (f) of subdivi-
 sion 2 of section 155.05 of the penal law, paragraph  (f)  as  added  by
 chapter  353 of the laws of 2023, are amended and a new paragraph (g) is
 added to read as follows:
   (ix) Perform any other act which would not in itself materially  bene-
 fit  the actor but which is calculated to harm another person materially
 with respect to his OR HER health, safety,  business,  calling,  career,
 financial condition, reputation or personal relationships[.]; OR
   (f) By wage theft.
   A  person obtains property by wage theft when he or she hires a person
 to perform services and the person performs such services and the person
 does not pay wages, at the minimum wage rate and overtime,  or  promised
 wage, if greater than the minimum wage rate and overtime, to said person
 for work performed. In a prosecution for wage theft, for the purposes of
 venue,  it  is permissible to aggregate all nonpayments or underpayments
 to one person from one person, into  one  larceny  count,  even  if  the
 nonpayments  or  underpayments occurred in multiple counties. It is also
 permissible to aggregate nonpayments or underpayments from  a  workforce
 into  one  larceny  count  even  if  such  nonpayments  or underpayments
 occurred in multiple counties[.]; OR
   (G) BY DEED THEFT.
   A PERSON COMMITS DEED THEFT WHEN HE OR SHE:
   (I) INTENTIONALLY ALTERS, FALSIFIES, FORGES, OR MISREPRESENTS A  PROP-
 ERTY  DOCUMENT  SUCH  AS A RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL DEED OR TITLE, WITH
 THE INTENT TO DECEIVE, DEFRAUD OR UNLAWFULLY TRANSFER  OR  ENCUMBER  THE
 OWNERSHIP RIGHTS OF A RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY; OR
   (II)  WITH INTENT TO DEFRAUD, MISREPRESENTS THEMSELVES AS THE OWNER OR
 AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF RESIDENTIAL OR COMMERCIAL REAL PROPERTY  TO
 INDUCE  OTHERS  TO  RELY  ON  SUCH  FALSE INFORMATION IN ORDER TO OBTAIN
 OWNERSHIP OR POSSESSION OF SUCH REAL PROPERTY; OR
   (III) WITH INTENT TO DEFRAUD, TAKES,  OBTAINS,  STEALS,  OR  TRANSFERS
 TITLE  OR  OWNERSHIP OF REAL PROPERTY BY FRAUD, FORGERY, LARCENY, OR ANY
 OTHER FRAUDULENT OR DECEPTIVE PRACTICE.
   § 4. Section 155.35 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 464 of the
 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
 § 155.35 Grand larceny in the third degree.
   A person is guilty of grand larceny in the third degree when he or she
 steals property and:
   1. when the value of the property exceeds three thousand dollars, or
   2. the property is an automated teller machine or the contents  of  an
 automated teller machine[.], OR
   3.  WHEN SUCH PERSON COMMITS DEED THEFT OF ONE COMMERCIAL REAL PROPER-
 TY, REGARDLESS OF THE VALUE.
   Grand larceny in the third degree is a class D felony.
   § 5. Section 155.40 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 515 of the
 laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
 § 155.40 Grand larceny in the second degree.
   A person is guilty of grand larceny in the second degree  when  he  OR
 SHE steals property and when:
   1. The value of the property exceeds fifty thousand dollars; or
   2.  The  property,  regardless of its nature and value, is obtained by
 extortion committed by instilling in the victim a fear that the actor or
 another person will (a) cause physical injury  to  some  person  in  the
 future,  or (b) cause damage to property, or (c) use or abuse his OR HER
 position as a public servant by engaging in conduct within or related to
 A. 9763                             3
 
 his OR HER official duties, or by failing  or  refusing  to  perform  an
 official duty, in such manner as to affect some person adversely[.]; OR
   3.  SUCH  PERSON  COMMITS DEED THEFT, REGARDLESS OF THE VALUE, OF: (A)
 ONE RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY; OR (B) ONE COMMERCIAL MIXED-USE  PROPERTY
 WITH  AT LEAST ONE RESIDENTIAL UNIT; OR (C) TWO OR MORE COMMERCIAL PROP-
 ERTIES.
   Grand larceny in the second degree is a class C felony.
   § 6. Section 155.42 of the penal law, as added by chapter 515  of  the
 laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
 § 155.42 Grand larceny in the first degree.
   A person is guilty of grand larceny in the first degree when:
   1.  he  OR  SHE  steals  property  and  when the value of the property
 exceeds one million dollars[.]; OR
   2. SUCH PERSON COMMITS DEED THEFT, REGARDLESS OF  THE  VALUE,  OF  (A)
 RESIDENTIAL  REAL  PROPERTY  THAT  IS OCCUPIED AS A HOME BY AT LEAST ONE
 PERSON; OR (B) RESIDENTIAL REAL PROPERTY THAT INVOLVES A  HOME  THAT  IS
 OWNED  BY AN ELDERLY PERSON, AN INCOMPETENT, AN INCAPACITATED PERSON, OR
 PHYSICALLY DISABLED PERSON; OR (C) THREE OR MORE RESIDENTIAL REAL  PROP-
 ERTIES.
   Grand larceny in the first degree is a class B felony.
   §  7.  Subdivision 3 of section 187.00 of the penal law, as amended by
 chapter 507 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   3. "Residential real property" means real property  THAT  IS  USED  OR
 OCCUPIED,  OR  INTENDED TO BE USED OR OCCUPIED, WHOLLY OR PARTLY, AS THE
 HOME OR RESIDENCE OF ONE OR MORE PERSONS, INCLUDING REAL  PROPERTY  THAT
 IS improved by a one-to-four family dwelling, or a residential unit in a
 building  including  units  owned  as  condominiums  or on a cooperative
 basis, used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied,  wholly  or
 partly,  as  the home or residence of one or more persons, but shall not
 refer to unimproved real property upon which such dwellings  are  to  be
 constructed.
   § 8. Section 63 of the executive law is amended by adding a new subdi-
 vision 17 to read as follows:
   17. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE EVERY PERSON OR
 ENTITY CHARGED WITH THE COMMISSION OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE IN VIOLATION OF
 THE  LAWS  OF  THIS STATE APPLICABLE TO ANY CRIME THAT AFFECTS THE TITLE
 TO, ENCUMBRANCE OF, OR THE POSSESSION OF REAL  PROPERTY,  INCLUDING  BUT
 NOT  LIMITED TO DEED THEFT, LARCENY, CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROP-
 ERTY, OFFERING  A  FALSE  INSTRUMENT  FOR  FILING,  FALSIFYING  BUSINESS
 RECORDS,  RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE FRAUD, OR SCHEME TO DEFRAUD.  IN ALL SUCH
 PROCEEDINGS, THE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAY APPEAR IN PERSON OR BY HIS OR  HER
 DEPUTY BEFORE ANY COURT OF RECORD OR ANY GRAND JURY AND EXERCISE ALL THE
 POWERS  AND  PERFORM  ALL  THE  DUTIES  IN  RESPECT  OF  SUCH ACTIONS OR
 PROCEEDINGS WHICH THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY WOULD OTHERWISE BE AUTHORIZED OR
 REQUIRED TO EXERCISE OR PERFORM.
   § 9. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.