Novy was the subject of a 10-count indictment charging him with misapplication of entrusted property, and multiple counts of theft and money laundering. Novy’s victims typically did not have close relatives to monitor their interests, and, in some cases, the clients suffered from dementia, prosecutors said, charging that he used the stolen funds for his own benefit, paying personal and business expenses. He was accused of taking control through wills, powers of attorney, and trust documents, making himself the sole financial decision-maker for the clients.

As an elder law practitioner, Novy previously hosted a bimonthly radio program, “Inside the Law,” on WOBM in Lakewood, which focused on topics of concern to senior citizens.

According to the Attorney General’s Office, he was arrested on Oct. 18, 2016, after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his office, and charges were then referred to the grand jury.

The indictment alleged that from 2009 through 2016, Novy stole approximately $1.9 million from six elderly clients, in amounts ranging from about $45,000 to nearly $740,000. The indictment alleged that Novy stole money in varying ways: transferring funds from his clients’ personal bank accounts or liquidated personal assets into his own bank account; transferring funds from personal accounts or liquidated assets into Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (IOLTA) sub-accounts he controlled when those funds should have instead been placed in independent, managed trust funds selected by the clients; and transferring money from personal and trust accounts to firm business accounts.

Deputy Attorneys General Peter Gallagher and William Conlow handled the prosecution.