Arrest Warrants Issued for Suspended NJ Lawyer Eugene LaVergne

Arrest warrants were issued for a suspended Monmouth County lawyer who police allege stole money from his clients.

Warrants issued for Eugene M. La Vergne, 47, stem from an investigation into the theft of funds belonging to one of LaVergne’s clients, according to a prepared release by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

La Vergne was hired in 2008 by a client seeking legal representation in a pending estate matter before the Chancery Division of the Monmouth County Superior Court, according to the release.

In 2009, after a property was sold from the estate, La Vergne received approximately $502,000 in his attorney trust account – funds that belonged to the estate represented by La Vergne, the release said. La Vergne, however, began to use a portion of the trust funds for personal expenditures and he made various cash withdrawals, it said.

By September 2009, La Vergne’s trust account balance had fallen below the threshold that the Chancery Court had ordered him to maintain, authorities said. The court ordered La Vergne’s trust account frozen and a levy was placed upon the remaining funds, the release said.

A financial audit revealed that La Vergne used nearly $152,000 of the trust funds for his own personal use, according to the statement.

Full Article and Source:
Arrest Warrents Issued for Eugene La Vergne, Suspended Monmouth County Lawyer