Real estate is a very fragile system with all sorts of crazy scams. Deed fraud is a thing — people buy houses and incompetent banks write loans on houses that aren’t for sale.
There were a bunch of cases in Brooklyn a few years ago, some were related to corrupt officials in the Surrogate/Probate court and deceased persons property. Others were grifts affecting unoccupied properties. The system isn't really designed to stop these sorts of frauds.
Friend of mines neighbor lives in a rental with an absentee landlord. Someone stole the landlords identity, took out a homeowners loan on the place, then wired the money to a bank in South America. They found out because real estate vultures started knocking on their door.
There were a bunch of cases in Brooklyn a few years ago, some were related to corrupt officials in the Surrogate/Probate court and deceased persons property. Others were grifts affecting unoccupied properties. The system isn't really designed to stop these sorts of frauds.