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 

Lawyer sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing $400,000

BOWLING GREEN — A former lawyer who stole more than $400,000 from a client took a gamble and lost, a judge said Wednesday.

Robert Searfoss III, 40, of Perrysburg was sentenced by Wood County Common Pleas Judge Alan Mayberry to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $400,718 in restitution to the victim, Eric Walker.

“I think the defendant gambled and lost in this case,” Judge Mayberry said. “Not only did he lose, but he took down his family with him, took down his parents with him, took down his in-laws with him, and certainly, terribly, tragically took down the Walker family with him.”

Although Searfoss had no prior criminal history, the judge noted he had not repaid a penny of restitution.

“For someone that's held to a higher standard, that's engaged in the practice of law, and that's sworn an oath to uphold the laws of the state of Ohio, it's beyond the pale that someone would be in a position of trust as a trustee, entrusted with someone's life finances in their hands, and would instead use it to their own advantage,” Judge Mayberry said.

Prosecutors said Searfoss was in serious personal financial straits when he dipped into Mr. Walker's trust to buy a house and pay off debt, including back taxes, child support, and a home-equity loan.

A jury found him guilty Nov. 29 of two counts of aggravated theft, four counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, four counts of money laundering, three counts of theft, and one count of grand theft.

In addition to restitution, Judge Mayberry ordered Searfoss to forfeit his interest in a Shawnee Drive home in Perrysburg, a Georgetown Drive property in Bowling Green, a 2013 Dodge Dart, and the Bowling Green firm where he once worked, Searfoss Law, LLC.

Shackled and wearing orange jail garb, Searfoss apologized to Mr. Walker and his family, saying that he considered Mr. Walker a friend and knows that he violated his trust.

“I'm just ashamed of what I did,” Searfoss said. “I'm usually a very intelligent person, also very stupid. I got lost somewhere along the way. I had all these elaborate rationalizations in my mind. I mean, all the way through the trial, I just couldn't see things clearly.”

He said he didn't own up to what he'd done until the morning after the jury found him guilty.

“I was an attorney in the community, and I did no service to the public opinion of attorneys and their trust in it,” he said. “I've done a lot of good in my life, and I've done a lot of bad here.”

Thomas Matuszak, chief assistant county prosecutor, asked for a 20-year sentence, saying repeatedly that Searfoss was figuratively playing poker — gambling with Mr. Walker's money and with his own future.

“The defendant now understands that the poker hand he played was a loser, and at the end of the day he went all-in and he took everything from Mr. Walker in the process,” Mr. Matuszak said. “As a result, he should be punished accordingly, not only to punish him but to deter others who might conceive of committing similar offenses.”

Mr. Matuszak read a letter from Mr. Walker to the court, in which the victim said the trust his grandmother had set up for him “should have been there for the rest of my life to pass on to my children after my death. I put my trust in someone that I would have never thought would do me wrong.”

Mr. Walker said that if Searfoss had begun paying the restitution, he would have asked for leniency, but that was not the case.

Defense attorney Rick Kerger pointed out that prior to trial, prosecutors offered Searfoss a plea agreement with a recommended sentence of three years. He asked for a sentence “as short as possible” for an otherwise law-abiding man.

Mr. Kerger said afterward that Searfoss was considering whether to appeal his 20-year sentence.

“It seems excessive for a first-time offender,” he said. “He's given up his law license. He's lost all his assets. The court is stressing the importance of making restitution and then sentences him to 20 years.”

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Lawyer sentenced to 20 years in prison for stealing $400,000