Lawyer pleads guilty to thefts from estate

By Julie Manganis

SALEM — A now-disbarred Andover lawyer pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that she embezzled $170,000 from the estate of a Salisbury man, then misled the man's family and a judge.

Deborah Anthony, 68, will be formally sentenced to 18 months in jail on July 22, Salem Superior Court Judge Thomas Drechsler told her.

The plea comes two months after Drechsler rejected a plea agreement between Anthony and the Massachusetts Attorney General's office that would have resulted in a suspended jail term and probation, a sentence Drechsler called "inadequate" for the amount of the theft from the estate of John "Kip" Kavanagh of Salisbury, who died in 2011 at the age of 75.

Kavanagh, a Navy veteran, never married or had children. His chief asset was his home. In 2012, Anthony, a former criminal defense attorney who had moved her practice into probate and family court matters, was appointed to settle his affairs and divide his assets among his surviving relatives.

But, prosecutor Edward Beagan told the judge, after selling the home for $190,000 in 2013, Anthony failed to turn over the funds to the family.

Instead, she used a portion of the proceeds to replenish client accounts she had previously taken money out of, said the prosecutor; she used some of the proceeds to make payroll at what Beagan called her "failing" law firm, and she used some to make car payments and have spa treatments.

After family members asked the court to order an accounting of the estate in 2014, Anthony told a Probate and Family Court judge that there was $160,000 in the account. In fact, said Beagan, there was less than $2,000.

Under the plea agreement Drechsler rejected in April, Anthony would have avoided serving any time if she paid restitution.

But Drechsler pointed to the inability of probation officers and judges to enforce restitution orders in the wake of a Supreme Judicial Court decision in 2016 that said defendants who cannot afford restitution cannot be kept on probation indefinitely.

"You know she's not going to be able to pay it, as a practical matter," Drechsler told the lawyers again on Tuesday.

And the judge again said that sparing Anthony from serving any time for such a significant amount would be unfair to other defendants who have gone to prison for less.

"I can't treat her differently, I can't treat her better, just because she's an attorney," said Drechsler, who later said he thinks the fact that Anthony used her skills and position of trust as a lawyer "makes it worse."

The judge also rejected a suggestion from Anthony's lawyer, Daniel Reilly, that he impose a year of home confinement or a shorter, 60-day jail term. Reilly said he has concerns about Anthony's age and health.

"I do too," said Drechsler. But he said he does not believe home confinement amounts to punishment.

After taking a break to discuss the judge's proposed sentence, Anthony and Reilly returned to the courtroom and told the court they would accept it, as long as Anthony could have 30 days to settle her affairs before going into custody.

Anthony will be eligible for parole after serving nine months of the jail term. She will also spend three years on probation, with a condition that she not work in any position that requires her to handle other people's money, and will be required to make whatever restitution payments she can afford, to be determined by a probation officer after her release. 

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Lawyer pleads guilty to thefts from estate

Manhasset attorney pleads guilty to stealing $230K

Alfred DiGirolomo pleaded guilty

By: Adina Genn

A Manhasset attorney pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing $230,000 from a client, authorities said.

Alfred DiGirolomo pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

Authorities say that DiGirolomo’s client, a restaurateur, gave him that money to fund several lawsuits. But DiGirolomo spent the money instead to pay for expenses related to credit cards, utilities, gasoline, automobiles, insurance, department stores, a civic association, a figure skating club, a cigar club, and a country club, the district attorney’s office said. None of these expenses were connected to his client.

DiGirolomo, who has already paid $99,479 in restitution, will be automatically disbarred, according to the DA’s office.

He is due back in court June 4. He is expected to be sentenced to 30 days to six months in prison if he pays the remaining restitution of approximately $131,000, or one to three years in prison if he does not pay restitution, officials said.

“This defendant used his client’s money to fund a luxurious lifestyle that included cars, country club membership and a cigar club,” Singas said in a statement about the plea.

From Jan. 1, 2014, to May 5, 2016, DiGirolomo represented the restaurateur client in three different lawsuits. To fund the settlements from the lawsuits, the client paid DiGirolomo $229,990, authorities said. Instead of sending the money to the appropriate parties, DiGirolomo kept the money for himself. He sent forged documents to his client that indicated that the lawsuits were resolved, when they were not.

After hiring a new attorney, the restaurateur discovered that none of the documents related to the settlements were filed with the court. The client then contacted district attorney’s office and a case was opened in January 2017.

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Manhasset attorney pleads guilty to stealing $230K

Nassau Attorney Pleads Guilty To Stealing $230,000 From Client

He was supposed to use the money to settle lawsuits for his client, but instead kept it all for himself. 

 

By Alex Costello, Patch Staff

A Manhasset attorney pleaded guilty today to stealing nearly $230,000 from a client, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced.

Alfred DiGirolomo, Jr., 63, pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny, the top charge against him. He is due back in court for sentencing on June 4, and is expected to get 20 days to six months in jail if he pays the remaining restitution of $131,ooo. If not, he could face one to three years in prison.

"This defendant used his client's money to fund a luxurious lifestyle that included cars, country club membership and a cigar club," Singas said. "Dirty attorneys have no place in Nassau County, and my office is committed to prosecuting any lawyer who victimizes those they represent."

According to Singas, from Jan. 1, 2014 through May 5, 2016, DiGirolomo represented a restaurateur in three different lawsuits. To fund the settlements from those suits, the client paid DiGirolomo $229,990. But instead of sending the money to the people he was supposed to, DiGirolomo kept it for himself. He forged documents that he gave to his client that showed the lawsuits were resolved, but they were not.

After the client hired a new attorney, they found that none of the documents that DiGirolomo claimed were real were every filed with the court. The client contacted the DA's office, which opened a case in January 2017. He was arrested by DA investigators in May 2017.

Instead of using the money to fund the lawsuits, DiGirolomo used it to pay for expenses related to credit cards, utilities, gasoline, automobiles, insurance, department stores, a civic association, a figure skating club, a cigar club and a country club -- all of which were unrelated to his client.

To date, DiGirolomo has paid $99,479 in restitution. He will be automatically disbarred as a result of his guilty plea.

If you believe you may have been a victim of an unscrupulous attorney, Singas encourages you to call the NCDA's Tip Line at 516-571-7755. Anyone interested in hiring an attorney is encouraged to check that person's standing and registration with the Office of Court Administration.

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Nassau Attorney Pleads Guilty To Stealing $230,000 From Client 

NJ Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Bilking Elderly Clients

A New Jersey lawyer has pleaded guilty to fleecing millions of dollars from his elderly clients.

Manchester solo Robert Novy, 66, a Brick resident, on July 27 pleaded guilty to first-degree money laundering before Ocean County Superior Court Judge Michael T. Collins, according to a release from the Attorney General’s Office.

Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Novy be sentenced to 10 years in state prison, including three years and four months of parole ineligibility. In pleading guilty, Novy admitted that he stole large sums from law clients, the release said.

Novy is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 28

Novy’s Attorney, Gerald Krovatin of Krovatin Klingeman in Newark, said: “Bob Novy has accepted responsibility for his conduct. The $4 million is more than enough to satisfy the legitimate claims of his former clients.”

According to prosecutors, the plea also requires Novy to pay restitution to his victims out of two funds, totaling $4 million, that are being created using assets previously seized from him by the state: one fund of $3 million to provide restitution to client-victims, heirs, estates and trusts already identified through the state’s investigation; and a second fund of $1 million to provide restitution for others not previously identified who come forward with proof that they were victims of thefts.

Novy also must surrender his license to practice law in New Jersey, and pay $500,000 to the state as an anti-money laundering profiteering penalty, the release said.

“By exploiting elderly clients and stealing their life savings, Novy sank to the lowest levels of greed, dishonesty, and callousness,” said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in the statement. “This guilty plea serves justice by ensuring that Novy will face a substantial prison sentence and that his victims will receive restitution from assets already seized from him.”

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 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. Prosecutors obtained court orders freezing more than $3.5 million in assets held by Novy, and appointing a trustee to oversee the firm’s business operations, the office said.

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.

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NJ Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Bilking Elderly Clients

Prison-bound lawyer to pay back over $300K he stole from clients

A Woodbridge lawyer admitted to stealing his clients money, and entered into a plea agreement that includes five years in state prison and restitution of approximately $310,000.

Richard Zuvich, 64, of Woodbridge pleaded guilty Monday in Middlesex County Superior Court to thefts that took place between May 8, 2015 and July 2017 according to Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

In the first incident, prosecutors say Zuvich admitted he took the proceeds from a house sale for a client, put the funds in a trust account, then withdrew the funds for himself.

He pleaded guilty to theft by unlawful taking and misapplication of entrusted property.

In another incident, Zuvich stole the insurance settlement money for his client for a house that burned down. Prosecutors say the client had no knowledge that Zuvich had negotiated the settlement.

As part of the settlement, Zuvich pleaded guilty to theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition.

Zuvich has practiced as a lawyer for nearly 27 years.

He is scheduled to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez in New Brunswick on Feb. 22, 2019. 

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Prison-bound lawyer to pay back over $300K he stole from clients

Bridgeport Attorney Pleads Guilty to Stealing $1.3 Million From Clients, Friends

Photo: RomanR/Shutterstock.com

A former longtime Bridgeport attorney pleaded guilty in federal court in Hartford to one count of wire fraud for allegedly defrauding clients, family members and friends of more than $1.3 million.

Thomas Murtha, who was a partner and managing member of now-defunct Maher & Murtha in Bridgeport, resides in Newtown. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Martinez Wednesday. Prosecutors say he operated a long-term fraud with more than 20 victims, including a client suffering from mental illness.

Murtha faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael Shea in September. He was released on a $10,000 bond pending sentencing.

Murtha, 62, resigned from the Connecticut Bar in September 2016 after three grievance complaints accused him of defrauding multiple victims, beginning around November 2011.

Those victims, court papers say, include a brother and sister and their deceased cousin, who jointly owned a three-family home in Shelton. Murtha handled the cousin’s estate and the sale of the home.

The complaints also accused Murtha of forging documents for a mortgage and trust. They claim he used the money to purchase a $725,000 home in Michigan and a 2.11-carat diamond engagement ring.

Prosecutors said Murtha stole at least $1.3 million from more than 20 individuals over the course of several years. They said he took more than $516,000 from a client suffering from mental illness.

Law enforcement officials arrested Murtha on a federal criminal complaint on April 5, 2017.

A grand jury returned a multicount indictment on Aug. 16.

Murtha has agreed to pay about $1.36 million in restitution, forfeit his interest in the Michigan house, and surrender the 2.11-carat diamond ring that the government seized.

According to the May 30 plea agreement, Murtha “knowingly and willfully converted client or trust funds without the victims’ knowledge and permission.” The plea agreement also states that Murtha “falsely represented to victims that he had their money when, in fact as he well knew, Murtha had already expended those funds for his own use and benefit and/or commingled those funds with his own money.”

The plea agreement also states Murtha submitted false or forged documents to victims. And, the agreement says, Murtha obtained and incurred charges on credit cards in the name of others without their knowledge or permission.

Murtha had practiced law in Connecticut for 35 years, from 1981 to 2016. His areas of expertise included civil and criminal litigation, and real estate and family law.

Andy Bowman, a Westport-based solo practitioner, represents Murtha. He did not respond to a request for comment Friday. Murtha could not be reached on multiple phone numbers by press time.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Laraia and David Huang prosecuted the case. Thomas Carson, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut, declined to comment.

Read the plea agreement:

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Bridgeport Attorney Pleads Guilty to Stealing $1.3 Million From Clients, Friends

Las Vegas lawyer pleads guilty to stealing millions from clients

Longtime estate attorney Robert Graham admitted in District Court Thursday to stealing more than $16 million from clients, many of whom relied financially on trust funds he oversaw.

Graham, 52, who is in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on $5 million bail, pleaded guilty before District Judge Kerry Earley to two felony counts of theft and three counts of exploitation of an older/vulnerable person. He faces a prison term of 16 to 40 years at his Jan. 11 sentencing.

“He’s a despicable predatory thief, plain and simple,” District Attorney Steve Wolfson said after the hearing. “He’s going to serve more time in prison than some murderers. As much justice as we could deliver was delivered today.”

Graham wore black reading glasses as he stood before Earley in jail garb and chains to enter his plea.

“I’m guilty of these charges, your honor,” Graham told the judge.

His lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Bryan Cox, added afterward, “It’s been a very difficult case, especially for the victims and the victims’ families.”

In the courtroom, Chief Deputy District Attorney J. P. Raman, the lead prosecutor in the case, read aloud the names of more than 110 clients who deserve a share of the $16 million in restitution prosecutors will seek against Graham.

The money was stolen between 2011 and 2016, Raman said in court papers Thursday.

The thefts — which ranged from as little as $20 to more than $1 million — occurred in 64 estate cases, 21 trust funds, 10 guardianship cases, and four special needs trusts, the court papers show.

Graham’s guilty plea capped a 10-month legal saga that began when he abruptly shut down his Lawyers West office in Summerlin on Dec. 2 after years of looting client funds.

In interviews with the Las Vegas Review-Journal after his indictment earlier this year, former clients described their frustration with Graham as they fought, sometimes desperately, to get him to turn over their funds in the years and final months before he closed his law practice.

Clients lost everything

The victims who lost everything include a wheelchair-bound woman with cerebral palsy and three young children who survived a crash that killed their parents. Some of the victims are expected to testify at Graham’s sentencing.

Graham secretly funneled an average of $187,000 a month in client funds over the years to a special bank account to run his law practice and pay personal bills, grand jury transcripts show.

He used client funds to pay $244,000 in taxes and $700,000 a year in advertising. He also used the money to make thousands of dollars more in charitable donations to numerous organizations,
including the Church of the Latter Day Saints and Boys Town of Nevada, the testimony shows.
Graham, once a regular fixture on local television promoting his law firm, described his practice as a 20-year business failure in a December interview with the Review-Journal.

“I was responsible for the litigation and felt I had no out,” Graham said. “So bit by bit, I moved the chairs on the deck. Each year, things got worse and worse, and I tried to bail myself out and just couldn’t.”

The State Bar of Nevada moved quickly to take control of Graham’s cases after he abandoned his clients in December and obtained a court order for his temporary suspension.

Assistant Bar Counsel Janeen Isaacsonhas since asked the Nevada Supreme Court to permanently disbar Graham.

“He stole millions of dollars to feed his ego and desires for wealth and power, and he used his law license to do it,” Isaacson said at a recent disciplinary hearing.

Several former clients filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against Lawyers West in December seeking the firm’s remaining assets.

But lawyers for the clients have admitted there is slim chance of recovering the missing funds. In Bankruptcy Court papers, Lawyers West listed $8.7 million in liabilities and only $438,000 in assets, mostly in unpaid legal fees unlikely to be collected.

Wolfson said Thursday that obtaining restitution from Graham in the criminal case also will be difficult because of his lack of assets.

“The odds of recovering anything significant are probably not very likely,” he said.

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Las Vegas lawyer pleads guilty to stealing millions from clients

Attorney called Mr Conn who stole $600m worth of social security from the government VANISHES one month before his sentencing

• Eric Conn, the flamboyant Eastern Kentucky lawyer who pleaded guilty in March in a $600 million Social Security fraud scheme, has disappeared
• Conn removed his electronic monitoring device in violation of his bond and authorities don't know where is is 
• He pleaded guilty to stealing from the Social Security Administration and paying bribes to a judge to rubber-stamp disability claims for thousands of his clients
• Conn remained free on bond pending his sentencing next month, but a judge had ordered him to be on home detention with electronic monitoring
• Employees in Conn’s office had heard him say he would flee to Cuba or Ecuador to avoid criminal charges
• Conn is believed to have wired substantial sums of money out of the country

A Kentucky disability attorney who stole $600 million from the federal government has vanished, according to the FBI.

Eric C. Conn, a flamboyant Kentucky lawyer who billed himself as 'Mr. Social Security,' was indicted on allegations in March that he made millions by paying a doctor and a judge to rubber-stamp false disability claims using phony medical evidence.

He was ordered to pay back tens of millions of dollars and was due to be sentenced next month.

Bit now the FBI said has revealed that Conn violated the conditions of his bond by removing his electronic monitoring device prompting the U.S. District Court to issue a warrant for his arrest.

General counsel for the FBI's Louisville office, David Habich, said that Conn's 'whereabouts are currently unknown.'

Conn was charged with designing an intricate scheme and using his expertise and positions of authority, to fraudulently induce payment of $600 million in federal disability and healthcare benefits,' Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said at the time.

Incredibly, Conn had escaped legal consequence for years, even after the Social Security Administration last summer cut off disability payments to hundreds of his clients in the impoverished coalfields of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia.

Conn continued to practice law and remains in good standing with the Kentucky Bar Association.

In 2013, the U.S. Senate released a scathing report titled 'How Some Legal, Medical and Judicial Professionals Abused Social Security Disability Programs for the Country's Most Vulnerable: A Case Study of the Conn Law Firm.'

 For 161 pages, the report detailed the lengths to which investigators say they went to hide the alleged scheme.

It accused Conn of paying the doctors, whom he called his 'whore doctors,' to sign dubious medical reports showing his clients were disabled. The claims were then approved by another doctor,often without a hearing.

At the time of his arrest, the federal prosecutor, Trey Alford, argued against Conn's release, saying he poses a flight risk and has indicated he would flee, that he has transferred money overseas, including in others' names to make it harder to track, and that his home is for sale.

Such fears now appear to have been well founded.

Conn opened his practice in a trailer in 1993 in his hometown of Stanville, Kentucky, population 500, according to the Senate investigation.

 From there he built the third-most lucrative disability firm in the nation, bringing in more than $20 million in fees between 2001 and 2013.

He became a local celebrity for his over-the-top advertising campaigns. He dispatched crews of 'Conn Hotties' to events, hired Miss Kentucky to appear in commercials and had a 19-foot replica of the Lincoln Memorial erected in the parking lot of his office.

A senate investigation alleges Conn's firm shredded 26,000 pounds of documents, more than 2.5 million sheets of paper, and destroyed more in a bonfire behind his office that burned for four days.

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Attorney called Mr Conn who stole $600m worth of social security from the government VANISHES one month before his sentencing

After dodging jail in theft of $2M, lawyer back in court for lagging on restitution

Harry J. Levant

When a botched medical procedure left Donna Johnson a double amputee, she sold her three-story brick home in Philadelphia and bought a more accessible ranch-style house, counting on a financial settlement she was awarded in 2009 from a lawsuit.

But about half of the settlement — or $433,000 — was stolen. It went to support the gambling habit of her attorney, Harry Levant, who had promised her the award would be wisely invested.

"My world crumbled in May of 2014 when I was informed that all my money no longer existed," Johnson would later tell a judge before Levant pleaded guilty in 2015 to theft and forgery. "I will never forgive Mr. Levant for what he has done to me. He needs to be punished and pay for what he has done."

Though he admitted fleecing a dozen clients, including a relative, out of $2 million, Levant walked out of court with no jail time, receiving up to about a combined 10 years of parole and probation. The sentence left victims angry and many in the city's legal community puzzled.

Because he violated his probation by missing nine monthly restitution payments so far, Levant has been brought back in Philadelphia Common Pleas court. He has a payment plan conference scheduled for next Wednesday. It all has left some wondering: Why didn't he spend any time behind bars?

"It changed my perception of the justice system," said attorney Nicholas Guiliano, who represented two of the victims in confidential arbitration claims against the brokerage firm from which Levant stole funds. "That, in fact, there are two systems of justice out there. One for people who are connected and one for people who are not connected."

Levant once ran for judge of Common Pleas. High-profile members of the legal community, family, a business owner and even state Rep. Dwight Evans, a longtime friend, testified on his behalf at the sentencing hearing.

His defense attorney at the 2015 sentencing, Tariq El-Shabazz, a family friend, this year became a top lieutenant in the Philadelphia district attorney's office. Also, months after Levant was sentenced, his sister-in-law was named chief of staff in the DA's office.

There is no evidence to suggest that Levant's political connections swayed Common Pleas Judge Edward Wright to impose what victims' advocates see as a lenient sentence. Yet interviews with more than a dozen criminal law experts — including defense attorneys and current and former prosecutors — suggest the sentence was highly unusual given the number of counts against Levant and the amount of money he stole.

Levant's defense attorneys counter that, because he turned himself in, had no prior record and is committed to paying back victims, his sentence was justified.

The ability to work in order to compensate his victims was a major part of the argument for no prison time.

Confession after hitting rock bottom

Levant, 52, who lives in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, is currently disbarred and waiting tables. He's the father of three children who attend public schools.

For years, he was an active and outspoken leader of a group dedicated to the interests of public school parents in the Roxborough area. He highlighted those achievements when he filled out a public questionnaire as a candidate for judge in 2011.

He also noted disparities he saw in the court system in that questionnaire. "I believe a disconnect exists between the court and our community," Levant wrote. "With my extensive experience and knowledge of the inner workings of the courtroom, I understand what is required to keep cases moving forward in a fair and time efficient manner."

His friends at the sentencing hearing testified that Levant is a compassionate and caring person whose streak of crime was an aberration of character.

Levant's thievery started in January 2012, according to court documents. That was not long after his unsuccessful run for Common Pleas judge.

After gambling for years, he hit rock bottom and confessed to prosecutors that he had repeatedly cheated clients out of large sums of money.

But in charging documents, investigators note that some of his victims were on to him before he self-reported.

Richard Lepore, who hired Levant to represent him in a civil suit over a car accident, told detectives that he became aware that a $23,000 settlement check had been cashed in his name without his permission. Lepore learned about this in June 2013. The following September, Levant admitted to taking the whole amount, instead of a third, which is all Lepore agreed that he should receive.

Lepore did not return calls seeking comment. It is unclear from court documents whether Lepore, or any of Levant's other victims, reported his theft to authorities before Levant turned himself in.

Until now, Levant's case has been handled by the Philadelphia district attorney's office, but that's changing. It has been referred to prosecutors in Delaware County "to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest," said Philadelphia district attorney spokesman Cameron Kline.

"Mr. Levant has a relative who is an attorney with the Philadelphia district attorney's office," said Emily Harris, spokeswoman with the Delaware County district attorney's office, in a statement.

Neither Kline nor Harris would elaborate on the conflict, but nine months after Levant was sentenced, his sister-in-law, Kathleen Martin, was appointed by Seth Williams to be his chief of staff and chief integrity officer.

The court appearance will be the first time Levant faces Judge Edward Wright since Wright announced Levant's punishment from the bench last February.

Back then, before Wright read Levant's sentence, a number of witnesses took the stand, including  longtime state Rep. Dwight Evans, who is poised to become a congressman in November.

"He's someone who volunteered for me, and I say this to you, this is the first time I'm publicly ever being in a courtroom to testify for someone," Evans told the judge. "I've also known Harry since I can say he was a kid. I've known him for a while, and I've seen him grow up, and I know the kind of person he is."

Yet the victims of Levant's schemes were familiar with another side of him.

Take Susan Bennett. She's Levant's sister-in-law. After going through a divorce, Levant told Bennett he would help her invest $1.2 million. Instead, Levant cashed checks without her permission, forged her signatures, and made transfers from her account to his own more than two dozen times.

"This repulsive act of theft by Harry J. Levant has tentacles so deep that every time I answer a phone, open an email, or receive a regular piece of mail, another problem arises," Bennett told the judge. "I have had to hire attorneys, tax consultants, and had to apply for benefits from the state of New Jersey, only to be denied ... he has betrayed my trust and has stolen my future."

Then there's Tracy Lacy, from whom Levant stole $22,000 after hiring him to handle a personal injury suit arising from a car accident involving a drunken driver.

"Harry Levant is a manipulative thief and liar who preyed on people like me who trusted him," Lacy said at the hearing.

Tariq El-Shabazz, who now works for the Philadelphia district attorney's office, represented Levant during the sentencing hearing, and emphasized Levant's gambling addiction.

"There is another victim, I submit to the court, in this case as well," El-Shabazz told the judge. "And that victim is a person that is a victim of what I submit to you is an addiction."

Several times in a long, spirited argument, El-Shabazz compared gambling addiction to being addicted to crack.

"Gambling is just as addictive because it's a high that occurs in one's mind," El-Shabazz said.

Defense attorney Bob Levant, who is Harry's brother and testified at the hearing, underscored that point.

"He just kept coming back for it until he bellied up," said Bob Levant, who declined to comment for this story. "It's some pretty scary stuff."

Harry Levant understood the harm he has caused, El-Shabazz said. He's now attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Though he has been disbarred, Levant would work hard to find another job, El-Shabazz promised. And he carried a $6,000 money order into the courtroom to give to the victims.
"I think that indicates that he's sincere," El-Shabazz said.

Levant can seek better rehabilitation outside of prison, El-Shabazz said, and generating income will hasten payments to the victims.

"You can send him away for five years to hell, you can send him away for nine months, but at the end of the day during the nine-month period, who's getting paid?" El-Shabazz asked the judge.

'I'm a compulsive gambler'

Those at the hearing say before what happened next, the mood was tense. Victims and their families were sobbing.

Levant himself walked to the witness stand and sat down.

"Judge, my name is Harry Levant, and I'm a compulsive gambler," he said. "Gambling addiction took control of my life and made my life unmanageable and caused a irreparable harm for which I am solely responsible."

Levant told the court that his schemes violated the truth and bond of his family.

"I do not in any way ask your forgiveness. I'm not entitled to that. What I do pledge to you is I will do everything in my power to make it as right as possible. I will work diligently as hard as I can to repay you."

Assistant District Attorney Doug Rhoads asked that Levant be jailed for his crimes.

"I've tried to find different ways to articulate this scale of what was stolen, and I can say that $2 million, I can say that 59 transactions, which was required to take the money from one victim alone," Rhoads told the judge. "I've tried all different ways to grapple with that scale. At the end of the day, that's only a number on a piece of paper. I think really what today's about is the victims' voice, and that's what this theft really means."

Rhoads reminded the court of a case in which an attorney, like Levant, turned himself in after stealing from clients. That defendant received two years in prison. But Rhoads noted that some other similar large-scale thefts have resulted in up to four years of incarceration.

It's not unusual for major theft prosecutions to result in serious time behind bars.

Just a month after Levant's sentencing hearing, another defendant was accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars and two cars from a veteran, leaving the elderly man homeless. The defendant, Melvin McIlwaine, was found guilty of seven counts involving fraud and theft. He was sentenced to seven to 14 years in prison.

Pennsylvania's standard sentencing guideline for theft of more than $100,000 is between probation and around two years in prison per count. Prosecutors charged Levant with 42 felonies and one misdemeanor. As part of a deal, he pleaded guilty to 13 charges, one for each victim.

Levant's maximum possible sentence was around 24 years in prison.

Attorney Nicholas Guiliano said abusing a position of trust and confidence to the tune of $2 million should have ended with prison time.

"It's an aberration to see an attorney betray that trust and wipe out someone's life savings and never have to go to jail," Guiliano said. "It's a travesty of justice."

Defense attorney Trevan Borum, who is representing Levant now, defended the sentence.

"My client self-reported crimes that were otherwise unknown to any authorities," Borum said. "The court heard substantial evidence of his otherwise good character and lifelong service to the community."

Five of Levant's 13 victims have been paid back in full — mostly through the Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security, which has paid victims some $186,000, according to the fund's records. The fund essentially is insurance for victims of attorney abuse and fraud. Levant now owes the fund what it has paid out to his victims.

Court records show that Levant still owes victims $1.7 million; some victims, according to Guiliano, are not feeling hopeful about repayment.

"Nobody ever thinks they're going to get restitution," Guiliano said. "Neither of my clients are banking on it."

Part of his probation at sentencing stipulated that Levant avoid casinos and have mental health counseling. It also requires that 60 percent of Levant's income go directly to victims, something Levant has had trouble sustaining. The judge issued a new order now requring Levant to pay $500 a month to his victims.

Since his sentencing hearing, Levant has made 13 monthly payments to the courts that are shared among victims. Most of the payments were $500. But he also missed nine months of payments according to court records.

Levant has had violation of probation hearings scheduled earlier this year, but the hearings have been repeatedly pushed back.

The Delaware County district attorney's office confirmed that the victims of Levant's fraud have been invited to the Wednesday hearing in Philadelphia. 

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After dodging jail in theft of $2M, lawyer back in court for lagging on restitution

3rd man indicted in real estate fraud scheme with Tucson link

A federal grand jury indicted a man in connection with an alleged multimillion-dollar real estate fraud scheme that operated out of San Diego and Tucson.

Peter Cash Doye, 40, of San Diego, was indicted on 17 counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the FBI said in a news release Wednesday.

The FBI is looking for other alleged victims. Authorities say the scheme diverted millions of dollars from renovations and asset sales into the pockets of Doye, Courtland Gettel, 42, and Tucson lawyer Jeffrey Greenberg, 66.

The indictment filed Aug. 10 in U.S. District Court in Tucson alleged Doye and Gettel took out a $65 million loan with Doral Property Finance in September 2013 to buy and renovate commercial properties through their real estate development firm Variant Holding Co. The following month, they entered into a $73.5 million financing contract with real estate firm Beach Point.

The alleged scheme included defrauding Beach Point of nearly $12 million in payments from escrow accounts for work that was never done and submitting $6.4 million in fraudulent invoices to Doral for renovation work that similarly was never done.

In the course of the fraud, the conspirators wired $17.7 million across state lines, prosecutors alleged in the indictment.

Prosecutors asked the court to order Doye to forfeit $18.4 million in connection with the fraud scheme.

Doye was senior managing director of Variant, which had offices in San Diego and Tucson, the FBI said.

A LinkedIn page registered under the name Court Gettel said he is the CEO of Variant and graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Gettel and Greenberg, who has practiced law in Arizona since 1983, pleaded guilty in May to charges of conspiracy and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California, as the Star reported May 26.

Federal prosecutors called the scheme an “extraordinary fraud” in which the conspirators took out $33.6 million in loans against multimillion-dollar homes in La Jolla and Del Mar and then forged documents to fool more lenders into believing the homes were debt-free.

The Department of Justice alleged they forged real estate lien releases and other records, “wreaking havoc on the chain of title for these homes” at the San Diego County Recorder’s Office. They then defaulted on the loans and caused millions of dollars in losses to lenders.

Gettel and Greenberg were ordered to forfeit $33.6 million by a federal judge in California on June 24.

Gettel and Greenberg previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scheme to defraud Beach Point and Doral.

Doye’s next court date is scheduled for Aug. 26. The sentencing for Gettel and Greenberg was scheduled for early August, but was postponed until the after the sentencing in the southern California case, court documents show.

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3rd man indicted in real estate fraud scheme with Tucson link

Batavia attorney admits bilking elderly client

A Genesee County attorney admitted to stealing $75,000 from "an elderly client over several years."

According to the Batavia Police Department, Randolph Zickl, 81, pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny after the theft was discovered by a family member of the client.

He was arraigned and pleaded guilty on June 24 in Erie County, because two of his sons, Robert and William Zickl, work as prosecutors in the Genesee County District Attorney's Office. He was prosecuted by the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

Police said Zickl intends to pay the money back before his sentencing in September. If he's able to do that, he could avoid time in prison and get probation.

Zickl was handling the estate of the victim's husband and admitted to double billing her for the work. While he was no longer representing her, he continued to withdraw money from her accounts.

Zickl, who has resigned from the New York State Bar Association, formerly worked as the head of the county's Legal Assistance Office. He has since resigned from that position.

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Batavia attorney admits bilking elderly client

Disbarred KC lawyer pleads guilty in $1.2 million theft from St. Luke’s Health System

A recently disbarred Kansas City lawyer pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzling more than $1.2 million from St. Luke’s Health System.

Alan B. Gallas, 64, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to mail fraud.

His firm served as a collection agency for patients who were behind on payments to the hospital system.

Gallas admitted that from 2009 to July 2015, he defrauded St. Luke’s Health System out of $1,224,264. He must pay that amount in restitution as part of Wednesday’s plea agreement.

According to federal court documents, money collected by his firm on behalf of St. Luke’s was placed in a trust account. Periodically, those payments would be sent to St. Luke’s.

But according to the documents, Gallas had employees of his law firm withhold money from payments made to St. Luke’s by placing thousands of payments on “hold” status, then having that money transferred from the trust account to the law firm’s operating account.

According to prosecutors, Gallas withheld 62 payments totaling $89,495 in 2009; 439 payments totaling $132,167 in 2010; 613 payments totaling $79,776 in 2011; 601 payments totaling $211,391 in 2012; 699 payments totaling $266,696 in 2013; 625 payments totaling $227,892 in 2014; and through July 2015 he withheld 625 payments totaling $216,845.

Last fall, Gallas, a former president of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Foundation, voluntarily surrendered his law licenses in Kansas and Missouri. He also has been disbarred in both states.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 10.

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Disbarred KC lawyer pleads guilty in $1.2 million theft from St. Luke’s Health System

Former Columbus attorney, guardian pleads guilty to theft

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A former Columbus attorney who served as a court-appointed guardian to nearly 400 Ohioans admitted he stole from four of his wards and from taxpayers.

The Columbus Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1SLSZAS ) 65-year-old Paul Kormanik pleaded guilty Tuesday to four counts of theft from an elderly or disabled person, one count of theft and five counts of tampering with records. The maximum combined sentence for the offenses is 23 years.

Prosecutors say Kormanik took just over $40,000 from accounts belonging to three of his wards after they had died and moved an additional $6,368 in life-insurance proceeds he received as guardian of another woman to his personal checking account.

Kormanik also falsified applications for city-paid funeral expenses on behalf of his wards by concealing their assets.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 20.

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Former Columbus attorney, guardian pleads guilty to theft

See Also:
Lawyer charged with stealing from wards, bilking burial fund 

Investigations launched into billing by lawyers appointed as guardians

Wards of indicted guardian are missing items, relatives say

Guardianship bill needed

ATTORNEY ADMITS TO TAKING $797,000 FROM CLIENTS

A Long Island elder law attorney has admitted to embezzling more than $797,000 from her clients over a four-year period, the Queens District Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday.

Martha Brosius, 52, of Brosius & Associates of Great Neck, appeared Tuesday before Acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty and pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of scheme to defraud, according to a news release from Queens District Attorney Richard Brown's Office.

"The defendant has admitted to breaching her fiduciary duty and unjustly enriching herself at the expense of her client," Brown said in the release. Brosius was indicted for the offenses in 2013. Her clients included a 77-year-old man who had been deemed mentally incapable and for whom Brosius served as legal guardian, as well as two brothers who retained Brosius to sell their deceased father's estate and establish a special-needs trust for their disabled sister, who was the sole heir to the father's estate.

Brosius is scheduled to appear before Gugerty on Aug. 12 for sentencing. Gugerty has indicated that her prison sentence would range between four and 12 years. Brosius is a graduate of the St. John's University School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 2003. According to the Office of Court Administration website, she has not been publicly disciplined. Her guilty plea will subject her to mandatory disbarment.

Assistant District Attorneys James Liander and Yvonne Francis appeared for the Queens District Attorney's Office.

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ATTORNEY ADMITS TO TAKING $797,000 FROM CLIENTS

Police raid Las Vegas lawyer’s office in courthouse probe

By JEFF GERMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

An investigation of Las Vegas lawyers who forged documents in misdemeanor cases involving prostitutes has expanded to include another defense attorney.

Las Vegas intelligence detectives Tuesday raided the home and law office of attorney Vicki Greco, seeking evidence that Greco filed phony certificates of completion for Las Vegas Justice Court-ordered counseling and community service on behalf of 39 clients between 2008 and 2010.

The investigation is a spin-off of the criminal case against suspended defense lawyer Brian Bloomfield, who pleaded guilty to doing the same for his clients, mostly prostitutes, over the same period.

Bloomfield pleaded guilty to felony and gross misdemeanor charges in the counseling scheme in December 2013. He admitted filing or helping file forged records in 91 cases that falsely claimed a client had completed counseling or community service. He also admitted having client files destroyed to cover his actions.

Detectives on Tuesday sought correspondence between Greco and Bloomfield related to the 39 clients, according to copies of the search warrants obtained by the Review-Journal.

Bloomfield, who has yet to be sentenced, is waiting to hear from a State Bar of Nevada disciplinary panel if he should permanently lose his law license.

Aaron Stanton, the detective who investigated Bloomfield, obtained the search warrants in the case against Greco. His affidavit providing probable cause for the search is sealed.

Police also searched for correspondence and records of financial trans­actions between Greco and former juvenile probation officer Robert Chiodini, who was charged along with Bloomfield in 2011. Chiodini, who also pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors, is awaiting sentencing.

Chiodini was accused of helping Bloomfield obtain phony certificates of completion showing community service for a youth boxing organization that Chiodini owned.

Detectives searched Greco’s client files Tuesday for certificates of completion from Chiodini’s Genesis Center.

According to the search warrants, detectives also sought tax returns for Greco and her law firm for 2007 through 2010. Police left Greco’s law office with her computer server and found client files at a rented storage unit.

Greco, who has had a Nevada law license since September 2003, declined comment. Her firm’s website says it is regarded as one of the best in Las Vegas, and that a “consistent track record of uncompromising ethics instills confidence and trust.”

State Bar Counsel David Clark said Greco hasn’t been before his organization for any disciplinary proceedings, but he’s interested in the courthouse allegations. “We’ll certainly inquire of the authorities whatever information they can share,” he said.

In December 2011, Bloomfield, Chiodini and former counseling service owner Steven Brox were charged in a county indictment with carrying out the scheme as far back as 2008.

Bloomfield’s wife, Amber McDearmon, and former bail bondsman Thomas Jaskol were subsequently indicted, with added charges that they conspired with Bloomfield to destroy evidence.

All but Brox eventually pleaded guilty. His trial is set for Sept. 8.

Bloomfield last month made an emotional plea to keep his license, telling the State Bar’s disciplinary panel he considered suicide after his guilty plea. He is serving a one-year temporary suspension and now earns $9 an hour in a telemarketing call center to support his wife and three young children, he said.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ

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Police raid Las Vegas lawyer’s office in courthouse probe

Burr Ridge Attorney Sentenced To Nearly Six Years In Prison For Stealing Millions

Kathleen Niew

“Accept no loss of principal,” was the money-keeping mantra of an Oak Brook-based attorney and financial advisor, sentenced Tuesday to 70 months for stealing $2.34 million from her clients which she used for fraudulent investments.

Kathleen Niew, 59, who resides in Burr Ridge, pleaded guilty to ten counts of wire fraud in federal court last June, a month before she was scheduled to go to trial. In addition to her jail sentence, Niew was also ordered to pay $2.34 million restitution to clients she defrauded, and forfeit any ill-gotten assets, said a news advisory from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

U.S. District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber also ordered three years of supervised release.

“The sentence must promote respect for the law . . . something has to be done when a case like this comes up,” the judge said before imposing sentence.

Niew was a fast rising financial advisor and attorney, founding Niew Legal Partners, LLC, in Oak Brook, along with her husband, Stanley. Among the many accomplishments Niew touts in her online about.me bio, she is a former Republican Businesswoman of the Year, author of two books, a radio probate law guru, and a star on the seminar circuit with her “Money Talks For Women” series.

According to the charges, Niew took an Oak Park couple’s life savings of $2.34 million and invested it in her escrow account to be used for closings on commercial real estate deals. Prosecutors allege that Niew invested the couple’s money without their knowledge into gold mines, instead of using their money to purchase commercial property as originally planned.

Niew also arranged to receive a 20-percent finder’s fee from the mining investments as part of her fraudulent scheme, in exchange for providing approximately $1.5 million in funds that belonged to her clients.

During her sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Leinenweber also found Niew responsible for defrauding another client out of $500,000, claiming she needed to borrow the money help buy assets in an upcoming divorce.

The judge said that the now disbarred attorney was not divorcing her husband, and sent the client’s money to the same gold mining operations where she had sent the Oak Park couple’s money.

“Niew blatantly stole $2.8 million of her clients’ money, and then lied to cover up the scam,” Assistant United States Attorney Suni Harjani argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “When confronted and caught, Niew undertook acts that can only be described as shocking for an attorney licensed by the bar – creating false cover-up documents, lying to her clients, and lying under oath (once again) to the [Illinois Attorney Registration and Discipline Commission].”

Niew is to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on April 14.

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Burr Ridge Attorney Sentenced To Nearly Six Years In Prison For Stealing Millions

Mich. Attorney Suspended For Trying To Have Rival Killed

Law360, San Francisco (February 17, 2015, 6:39 PM ET) -- The State of Michigan Attorney Discipline Board suspended attorney Clarence Gomery's law license Friday after he pleaded guilty to hiring someone to murder an attorney representing Gomery's former client, who sued seeking repayment of a debt after Gomery filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Gomery pleaded guilty Feb. 6 to one felony count of solicitation of murder, triggering the automatic suspension of his license, according to the board. He sought the killing of attorney Christopher Cooke of Cooke Law PLLC, who represents Fred A. Topous in Topous'...

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Mich. Attorney Suspended For Trying To Have Rival Killed

Missouri prosecutor admits stealing $540k from elderly client

KANSAS CITY, Mo.   •  A lawyer who was elected this month as a northwestern Missouri county prosecutor won’t be serving in that role after all, having pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing more than half a million dollars from an elderly client.

Richard F. Turner, 39, of Bethany, Mo., pleaded guilty Wednesday in Kansas City to one count of wire fraud and one count of making false statements on his tax return, according to U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson’s office. He also pleaded guilty to an asset forfeiture count.

Turner, who previously had served as Harrison County prosecutor and was again elected to that post Nov. 4, admitted trying to steal roughly $728,000 from his client but managing to obtain only $540,803.

More than $327,000 of the money was spent paying off and improving his home in Bethany — including installing a swimming pool — while a portion also went toward trying to prop up his struggling clothing store, Richard’s/TD Clothiers.

“This is an egregious case of elder abuse,” Dickinson said. “When those in positions of responsibility and trust abuse the elderly, we will bring the full resources of federal and state law enforcement to bring them to justice.”

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Missouri prosecutor admits stealing $540k from elderly client

Clinton lawyer pleads guilty to drug charge

CLINTON – Clinton lawyer Dodie Junkert pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony drug conspiracy charges.

The plea came as a bench trial was set to begin on nine drug charges against the 51-year-old attorney related to a 2013 police investigation into cocaine sales in Central Illinois.

The plea deal that resulted in dismissal of the other eight counts was reached after a meeting Tuesday between Junkert, her attorneys and two lawyers with the Illinois Attorney General's Office. Junkert pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance near a school.

In a statement given to Judge Dan Flannel by Assistant Attorney General John Kezdy to support the drug trafficking charge, Junkert was accused of going to the home of Mary Smith to obtain cocaine for herself and another woman. The location of the drug transaction was less than 100 feet from a Clinton elementary school, Kezdy noted.

Junkert faces a sentence ranging from probation to seven years in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 20. No sentence is specified under the plea deal.

In comments to Junkert, the judge explained the potential penalties for the offense and asked several times if she understood the terms of her plea. Junkert affirmed that she understood the consequences of her admission to a drug crime.

Kezdy asked the judge to inform Junkert that she also faces potential discipline from the Illinois Attorney Registration Disciplinary Commission, including loss of her law license.

Defense lawyer James Brinkoetter responded that Junkert "is fully aware of her responsibility to report this conviction to the ARDC."

Earlier this year, Junkert was suspended from practicing law for one year by the ARDC for mishandling client funds.

The commission said Junkert, who was licensed to practice law in Illinois in 1998, failed to deposit client funds into a trust account to cover anticipated legal expenses. The lawyer also failed to prepare and maintain ledgers and other records related to client funds, the ARDC said.

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Clinton lawyer pleads guilty to drug charge