Ocean County Superior Court Judge Michael Collins sentenced the lawyer, former Manchester solo Robert Novy, now 67, to prison.
The sentence, issued Oct. 26, conforms to a plea agreement between Novy and the state Attorney General’s Office, according to a release.
“Novy preyed upon vulnerable seniors who trusted him as their attorney to guard their interests. Instead, he callously stole their life savings, betraying their trust and the oath he took to uphold the law,” said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in a statement
Novy’s Attorney, Gerald Krovatin of Krovatin Klingeman in Newark, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
According to prosecutors, the plea agreement also requires Novy to pay restitution to his victims out of two funds created from assets previously seized from him: one for $3 million for victims already identified, and another for $1 million for victims identified later, the release said.
The deal also requires Novy to surrender his New Jersey law license and pay a $500,000 penalty.
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.
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.
Full Article & Source:
Bilking Elderly Clients Gets NJ Lawyer 10-Year Sentence
Good. Have a nice life in prison.
ReplyDelete