Fontanelli is accused of draining the funds from the escrow account in which he deposited the proceeds of the sale of the mixed residential and commercial property at 798 St. John's Place in Crown Heights.Authorities in Brooklyn said Fontanelli's client, Jean Apolon, never received any money from the December 2012 transaction.
"A lawyer's escrow account represents a sacred trust between himself and his client," Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said in a statement. "Stealing from that account violates that trust and is a stain on the profession."
Financial crime investigators in the Brooklyn D.A.'s office said Fontanelli, who had been a solo practitioner, used the money from the escrow account to pay the rent on an office at 32 Court St. in Brooklyn and to operate his business.
Full Article and Source:
Disbarred Lawyer is Indicted in $1 Million Escrow Theft
7 comments:
In today's posts, Maine banks and credit unions are launching a program to stop elder financial abuse. Tellers are usually trained to look for that, but more is needed.
Pretty brazen, but not outside the norms of attorney behavior.
99% of lawyers give the rest of us a bad name.
It is a start in the right direction Thelma.
I do hope this lawyer gets the maximum prsion term. Where the hell do people get the idea that it is okay to steal? It is not ok. I know this goes on every day and I read these stories all the time but it never ceases to amaze and disgust me!!!
Incompetent lawyers make competent thieves.
Robert Fontanelli was our family attorney,he represented my mother,his Aunt and Godmother in a case regarding half ownership of a home worth 850,000 dollars, after the case settled,he had my mother sign documents related to the case one of those documents was a deed signing over the property to him which she signed unknowingly,which he promptly sold and kept the money, he was CONVICTED of this fraud amongst others and is now serving 4-9 years.
We have had a claim in with the NY Lawyers fund for three years and have gotten nothing,all we ever hear is "it's still under investigation"
It's frustrating.
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