Protect Rhode Island Homeowners - Pass The Deed Fraud Prevention Act

For most Rhode Islanders, their home is not just a structure. It is the place where they raised their children. It is the mortgage they paid for 30 years. It is the equity they are counting on for retirement.

It is, quite literally, their life’s work.

Deed fraud occurs when criminals illegally transfer property ownership by filing forged documents, often without the homeowner’s knowledge or consent. Older adults are targeted because they are more likely to own their homes outright, may have multiple properties, and sometimes are not living in or regularly monitoring their homes due to health or life changes. The consequences are devastating—victims can lose their homes, savings, and peace of mind, and the fraud often goes undetected for years.

On April 1^st of 2025 the FBI Boston office published a release warning landowners and real estate agents to take action to protect themselves from deed fraud. In the release they state, “Known as quit claim deed fraud or home title theft, the schemes involve fraudsters who forge documents to record a phony transfer of property ownership. Criminals can then sell either the vacant land or home, take out a mortgage on it, or even rent it out to make a profit, forcing the real owners to head to court to reclaim their property.”

AARP Rhode Island is working with Speaker Pro Tempore Kennedy and Senate President Lawson to combat this horrific crime.

The Deed Fraud Prevention Act (House Bill 7551/Senate Bill 2715) would:

Prohibits municipalities from accepting remote electronic filings without verified ID or trusted submitter status.
Authorizes recorders/clerks to refuse suspicious documents and report them to law enforcement.
Creates criminal penalties: up to 10 years and $50,000 for a first offense; up to 20 years and $100,000 for a fraud pattern.
Provides a private right of action for victims to recover damages and attorney’s fees.
Requires every municipality to implement a free property alert notification system by January 1, 2028.
Updates notarial law to allow refusal when identity proofing is inadequate.

Tell your State Senator and State Representative to support the Deed Fraud Prevention Act!

RECIPIENTS:

Your State Representative
Your State Senator

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Subject Protect Rhode Island Homeowners - Pass The Deed Fraud Prevention Act

Dear Decision Maker,

Message Body

I am writing you to ask you to support The Deed Fraud Prevention Act (H 5771/S2715) because this crime poses a serious threat to the financial security and stability of older Rhode Islanders, who are especially vulnerable due to high rates of homeownership and equity. Deed fraud occurs when criminals illegally transfer property ownership by filing forged documents, often without the homeowner’s knowledge or consent. On April 1st of 2025 the FBI Boston office published a release warning landowners and real estate agents to take action to protect themselves from deed fraud. The release also highlights the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) statistics on real estate fraud in New England. While the IC3 does not have specific statistics for quit claim deed fraud, it does fall into the real estate crime category. The statistics show that between 2019-2023 there were 224 victims of real estate fraud in Rhode Island. The losses totaled $4,852,220.

Criminals specifically look for properties without liens because those homes represent pure equity—sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars sitting in public record databases that are easily searchable online.

A home that is paid off is a symbol of stability to us.

To a criminal, it’s an opportunity.

The Deed Fraud Prevention Act accomplishes the following:

•	Defines “suspicious documents,” “trusted submitters,” and “pattern of real estate title fraud.” 
•	Prohibits municipalities from accepting remote electronic filings without verified ID or trusted submitter status. 
•	Authorizes recorders to refuse suspicious documents and report them to law enforcement. 
•	Creates criminal penalties: up to 10 years and $50,000 for a first offense; up to 20 years and $100,000 for a fraud pattern. 
•	Provides a private right of action for victims to recover damages and attorney’s fees. 
•	Requires every municipality to implement a free property alert notification system by January 1, 2028. 
•	Updates notarial law to allow refusal when identity proofing is inadequate.

Please act now and pass The Deed Fraud Prevention Act (H5771/S2715). Rhode Island homeowners need these important protections.

Thank you.

[First Name] [Last Name]
[Your Address]

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