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H7551aaNon-Violent Crime Penalties

Criminal Offenses - Fraud and False Dealing

This bill criminalizes real estate title fraud and requires towns to create free property alert systems for homeowners.

On the floor71 Yea0 Nay4 Not voting
Population
Affected
35
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This bill establishes new laws to prevent and punish real estate title fraud. It makes it a felony to forge or file fraudulent deeds and mortgages, with penalties of up to 20 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. It requires municipalities to establish a free property alert system by 2028 to notify owners if documents affecting their property are recorded. It also restricts electronic deed filings to trusted submitters or those providing sufficient ID, allows clerks to delay suspicious documents, and gives victims the right to sue for damages and attorney's fees.

For younger readers

Sometimes bad people try to steal houses by sneaking fake papers into the town's official records. This bill makes it a serious crime to use fake papers to claim you own someone else's property. If someone gets caught doing this, they can go to jail and pay big fines. The bill also says towns must create a free alert system. This system will send a message to homeowners if anyone tries to file new papers about their house, so they can catch the bad guys before they cause trouble.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Real estate ownersMunicipal recorders and clerksNotaries publicReal estate attorneys and title companiesRegulated financial institutions
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

There is a slight due process risk regarding the provision that allows municipal recorders to "temporarily delay a suspicious document" without an immediate, defined timeline for a hearing or judicial review. However, because property recording is a government function, the delay is designed to prevent fraud, and the decision can be challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction, the constitutional risk is minimal.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Up to $100,000/fine for real estate title fraud

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects vulnerable homeowners, such as the elderly or low-income populations, from predatory real estate scams and title theft.
  • Mandates a free property alert system, ensuring equal access to property monitoring and protection regardless of a resident's wealth or income.
  • Provides a clear path for victims to sue fraudsters to recover their money and pay for their lawyers, helping those who couldn't otherwise afford legal representation.
  • Introduces harsh felony sentences of up to 20 years in prison, which contributes to mass incarceration and may disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
  • Gives municipal recorders broad discretion to delay documents they deem "suspicious," which could lead to biased or discriminatory delays in property transactions.
  • Shields municipalities and public officials from all civil liability regarding the alert system, removing accountability if the government fails to properly protect a resident's property records.
For Conservatives
  • Strongly protects private property rights by establishing severe criminal penalties and fines for those who attempt to steal or fraudulently encumber real estate.
  • Streamlines the process for trusted corporate entities, like title insurers and banks, to submit electronic documents easily without extra bureaucratic hurdles.
  • Empowers local law enforcement and courts to vigorously prosecute fraudsters and mandates restitution to victims, reinforcing the rule of law.
  • Imposes an unfunded mandate on local municipalities to create, maintain, and operate a free property alert notification system by 2028.
  • Grants unelected municipal workers the authority to unilaterally delay the recording of documents based on subjective "suspicion," potentially interfering with legal commerce.
  • Places new identification requirements on remote electronic filings, adding regulatory red tape for everyday citizens trying to manage their property.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 115 additions · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Chapter 11-18 of the General Laws entitled "Fraud and False Dealing" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections: 11-18-35. Real estate title fraud -- Suspicious documents and instruments.

(a) For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Document” means information inscribed on a tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in perceivable form.

(2) “Instrument” means a deed, to secure debt, security deed, mortgage, security interest, deed of trust, promissory note, or any other document representing a security interest or lien upon any interest property including the renewal, modification, or refinancing of any such loan.

(3) "Pattern of real estate title fraud" means one or more violations of subsection (d) of this section and that have the same or similar interests, results, accomplices or methods of commission or otherwise results from comparable actions or omissions.

(4) “Person” means an individual, corporation, company, limited liability company, partnership, trustee, association, or any other entity.

(5) “Sufficient documentation” means a driver’s license, passport, military identification card, an attorney registration or bar association identification card, or other government issued identification that established positive identification.

(6) “Suspicious document” means a document submitted for recording for which the recorder has found any one of the following:

(i) The name or commission information of a notarial officer who has purported to acknowledge or verify the document does not match official records;

(ii) The document purports not to be subject to the laws of the United States or this state;

(iii) The document does not conform to recording standards established by other laws of this state, including chapter 30.1 of title 42; or

(iv) The document has not been submitted for recording by a trusted submitter or an authorized representative of a trusted submitter and the document is materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent.

(7) “Trusted submitter” means:

(i) A title insurer, title company or title agent or escrow agent as defined by chapter 2.6 of title 27;

(ii) An attorney licensed to practice in this state; and

(iii) A regulated financial institution as defined by § 19-1-1.

(8) “Victim” means a person who experienced personal loss including, but not limited to, monetary loss, due to violation of this section.

(b) On and after September 1, 2027, no municipality shall authorize or accept for filing any real estate deed, mortgage, or other instrument by electronic filing from a remote location unless the filing is accompanied with sufficient documentation to identify the individual making the filing or the document is being submitted by a trusted submitter. In addition, a municipal recorder may:

(1) Temporarily delay a suspicious document, unless a court of competent jurisdiction finds that the recorder’s finding that the document is a suspicious document is erroneous;

(2) Report a suspicious document to any appropriate law enforcement agency; or

(3) Notify a notarial officer who has purported to acknowledge or verify a suspicious document of the reason for the recorder’s finding that the document is a suspicious document.

(c) Any filing in violation of the provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall be voidable upon a finding by a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to an in person filing of a deed in the appropriate municipal department or office.

(d) A person commits real estate title fraud when such person, with intent to defraud:

(1) Knowingly offers for recording or records any real estate deed in which the transferor’s signature is forged:

(2) Knowingly offers for recording or records a fraudulently created instrument or title to the real estate;

(3) Knowingly offers for recording or records a fraudulent mortgage, lien or instrument claiming an interest in real estate for either themself or another person or entity;

(4) Knowingly falsely encumbering the real estate of another; or

(5) Knowingly attempts or transfers an interest, encumbrance, lien or mortgage in the property of a third party by means of a known forgery or false document or instrument.

(e) In an action authorized by this subsection, an injured person is entitled to appropriate declaratory or injunctive relief against the document submitter, and not the recorder acting in good faith. A recorder shall not be liable for damages or any other claim for monetary relief in an action brought under this subsection.

(f) Any person violating the provisions of subsection (d) of this section shall for a first offense be guilty of a felony and be subject to imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years, and a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or both. A person violating the provisions of subsection (d) of this section by a pattern of real estate title fraud shall be guilty of a felony and be subject to imprisonment for not more than twenty (20) years, and a fine of not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), or both, and/or an order of restitution to any victim.

(g) Any owner of real estate who is a victim of a person violating the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, in addition to any other remedy that may be available at law or equity, may bring an action against an individual who has knowingly filed, entered, or recorded, or caused to be filed, entered, or recorded, in any public record a false or forged deed or other instrument purporting to convey the owner’s interest to such real property to such individual or a third party or purporting to encumber the owners interest in such real property to:

(1) Recover the owner’s actual damages caused by the filing, entering, or recording of such false or forged deed or other instrument or five thousand dollars ($5,000), whichever is greater; and

(2) Recover the owner’s costs incurred in bringing such action, including reasonable attorneys' fees.

(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed as creating a cause of action against any public official or employee, including without limitation, a municipal clerk or any employee or agent of a clerk of a municipality for actions taken good faith on this section or on information provided by a third-party system or vendor in the performance of the clerk’s duties. 11-18-36. Property alert notifications – Property owners.

(a) Not later than January 1, 2028, each municipality shall establish a property alert notification system that allows a person to enroll real property owned by the person in the system.

(b) A property alert notification system established under this section shall:

(1) Notify the enrolled owner within ten (10) business days of the recording of any document describing, affecting, or purporting to affect the enrolled property; and

(2) In the notification required by subsection (a) of this section identify the nature of the document recorded, identify the subject property by address or tax identification number, and provide the recording information of the document.

(c) A property owner may elect to receive any notification provided under this section by mail, text message, call, or email.

(d) There shall be no charge to a property owner for enrolling in the property alert notification system required by this section.

(e) A municipality may by mail notification, website notification, newspaper advertisement, or other media provide property owners with:

(1) Educational information on deed fraud; and

(2) Information about the property alert notification system established under this section. (f)(1) A municipality may index or by other means create a searchable log that includes the following information for each document recorded in the land records:

(i) Information identifying real property described in or purported to be affected by the document;

(ii) The name and commission number, if applicable, of any notarial officer described in or identified in the document, along with commissioning jurisdiction of such officer; or

(iii) The name of the person that submitted the document for recording;

(2) A recorder shall not be liable for any violation of subsections (e) and (f) of this section.

(g) An index or log created under subsection (f) of this section may be made available for public search and examination in the same manner as any other index for the land records required by other law of this state.

(h) A municipality shall not be liable for a violation of this section. No person shall have a right or cause of action and a municipality shall not be liable with respect to the establishment, maintenance, or operation of a property alert notification system required by this section.

SECTION 2. Section 42-30.1-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-30.1 entitled "Uniform Law on Notarial Acts" is hereby amended to read as follows: 42-30.1-7. Authority to refuse to perform notarial act.

(a) A notarial officer may refuse to perform a notarial act if the notarial officer is not satisfied that:

(1) The individual executing the record is competent or has the capacity to execute the record; or

(2) The individual’s signature is knowingly and voluntarily made.

(b) A notarial officer may refuse to perform a notarial act if an individual does not provide the notarial officer information sufficient to conduct identity proofing under § 42-30.1-6 or § 42- 30.1-12.1 or if the individual does not consent to pay for identity proofing. (b)(c) A notarial officer may refuse to perform a notarial act unless refusal is prohibited by law other than this chapter.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.