Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and New York State Attorney General Letitia James recently announced the arrest of three individuals accused of swindling a Bronx woman out of the lifelong home she owned — an example of deed theft, which occurs when someone uses fraud or forgery to take the title to someone else’s house.
Marcia Campbell, the owner and broker for Extreme Realty on White Plains Road and East 223rd Street, along with her husband Fred and their business associated Frank Palmer, all face multiple felony charges in connection to the deed theft. They are alleged to have fraudulently obtained a mortgage of $493,500 on the victim’s property at 4169 Bronxwood Ave.
Additionally, Marcia Campbell was charged with crimes pertaining to three other real estate scams where she allegedly took advantage of immigrant families looking to buy homes in the Bronx — including a personal friend who loaned her money for an investment. Campbell is alleged to have stolen approximately $250,oo0 in those incidents.
Defense attorney information was not available in time for publication, and calls and emails to Extreme Realty were not answered.
The three individuals — and their shell company, 99 Patmor Avenue — were all charged with one count each of grand larceny in the second degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the second degree, grand larceny in the third degree, criminal possession of stolen property in the third degree and falsifying business records in the first degree, according to the Oct. 2 announcement.
Marcia Campbell was separately charged with 13 total counts of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and scheming to defraud.
In announcing the arrests, James called the schemes “as heartless as it gets” — especially since they targeted vulnerable people who trusted Campbell, who had 37 years of experience and 4,200 “satisfied clients,” according to her company website.
Deed theft now a crime
The New York City Sheriff’s office received nearly 3,500 complaints of deed theft between 2014 and mid-2023, according to the attorney general’s office. But deed theft only recently became a crime, not just a civil offense, in New York.
Assembly Member Landon Dais, who represents the 77th District neighborhood including Highbridge and Grand Concourse, worked with James and State Senator Zellnor Myrie to enhance laws protecting homeowners. They co-sponsored a new law that took effect in July criminalizing deed theft, making it felony grand larceny, and giving the state attorney general increased time to prosecute cases alongside local district attorneys.
Deed theft is of particular concern in the Bronx and Brooklyn, as it is common for the scams to target people of color, immigrants and seniors, especially when the home is abandoned, in foreclosure or has tax liens, according to the attorney general.
Authorities in the 2019 deed theft case against Marcia Campbell allege that the Bronx victim asked Campbell to help transfer ownership of her childhood home to the victim’s sister. But Campbell, her husband and business associate instead forged the homeowner’s signature on documents to transfer the property to their shell company, 99 Patmor Ave. Inc. They then took out a mortgage of $493,500.
After obtaining the loan — and dodging questions from the homeowner — Campbell and associates defaulted. The lender eventually filed for foreclosure, leaving the victim unhoused in fall 2021. The foreclosure is now on hold following intervention from the attorney general.
Dais said the new law is already having a local impact. “I proudly champion this legislation to protect homeowners across our state, especially here in the Bronx, where this groundbreaking case has taken place,” he said in a statement to the Bronx Times.
Real estate schemes
Beyond the deed theft incident, other New Yorkers were allegedly defrauded by Campbell, who is accused of taking advantage of immigrant families looking to purchase homes — despite being a Jamaican immigrant herself, as it says on her company website.
In one case, an immigrant couple looking to buy a Bronx home gave Campbell over $91,000 in unwarranted fees and down payments over five years. When the couple ultimately could not get the house they wanted and requested their money back, Campbell returned only $17,000.
In a 2023 case, the realtor convinced an immigrant mother to buy into a fake investment on a multi-unit property in the Bronx. The mother paid $65,000 to Campbell, believing she would then own and live at the property. But Campbell allegedly took the money without ever handing over the address and only returned $15,000.
Campbell is also accused of defrauding a friend who was a retired home health aide. She allegedly asked the woman for a loan of $130,000 to put towards an investment opportunity, claiming she would pay it back soon — plus another $30,000 — as soon as another real estate transaction went through. But Campbell never paid back the loan.
All three individuals charged in these schemes and the deed theft case could face up to 15 years in prison, and Campbell is scheduled to appear in Bronx Supreme Criminal Court in early December. At this point, her future as a real estate broker is uncertain. State data shows her license expires in June 2026, and the New York Department of State is in charge of revoking and suspending licenses, according to James’ office.
The attorney general encourages New Yorkers who believe they are a victim of deed theft to call the office at 1-800-771-7755, email deedtheft@ag.ny.gov or file a confidential complaint.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes