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Tag: escrow theft

  • Floral Park attorney sentenced for $1.7M escrow theft | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • Defendant stole over $1.7M from 32 clients’ escrow accounts, officials said.

    • Spent stolen funds on nightclubs, adult entertainment and personal expenses.

    • Sentenced to 3½ to 10½ years in prison and civil judgments of $1.79M.

    • Mismanagement led to canceled real estate transactions and financial harm to clients.

    A -based real estate attorney was sentenced Wednesday for stealing more than $1.7 million from the escrow accounts of over 30 clients, officials said. He later spent the money on adult entertainment, nightclubs and other personal expenses as well as to fund his law practice, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.

    Terrance Dougherty of Oyster Bay had pleaded guilty in September to 13 counts of second-degree and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 3-1/2 to 10-1/2 years in prison. The court also issued civil judgments totaling $1.79 million for 32 victims.

    “Terrance Dougherty threw his life and career away for a good time on his clients’ dime,” Anne Donnelly, Nassau’s district attorney, said in a news release about the sentencing.

    Donnelly described Dougherty as a “thief who blew through more than a million dollars, spending down the escrow funds in his business trust account until it was almost zeroed out.”

    She said that in “just five days, this defendant unbelievably spent nearly $200,000 at gentleman’s clubs in New York City and on Long Island. He was living it up while his clients faced having nowhere to live …, [s]eeing their dreams of home ownership dashed, their financial stability jeopardized and their sense of security forever tainted. Terrance Dougherty is a disgrace to the legal profession, and he will find no luxury accommodations over the next decade in state prison.”

    Officials said Dougherty maintained an attorney trust account holding from real estate transactions, including down payments and sale proceeds. Between March 2021 and November 2024, he handled at least 32 clients’ transactions. Investigators found he withheld funds, causing many transactions to be canceled or closings to proceed without the necessary money, according to authorities.

    A review of the defendant’s account showed that $1.79 million in client funds was deposited between March 2021 and November 2024, leaving a balance of $5.35 by Nov. 29, officials said. Records show he withdrew money through cash, transfers to another business account, and credit cards, using it between May and August 2024 for personal expenses, including visits to gentleman’s clubs, nightclubs, luxury hotels and restaurants.

     

     

     


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    Adina Genn

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  • Garden City lawyer sentenced in $6M real estate fraud scheme | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • Defendant sentenced to four to 12 years

    • Victims include homeowners, lenders and real estate agents

    • Ordered to repay $6.2M in civil judgment to 52 victims

    An attorney from Garden City was sentenced Tuesday in a $6 million and real estate scheme, officials said.

    had pleaded guilty in October of 2024 to 13 counts of second-degree grand larceny and one first-degree scheme to defraud, in connection to more than 50 real estate transactions between September 2020 and January 2024, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

    He was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison. In addition, in a civil judgment, the defendant was ordered to pay more than $6.2 million to 52 victims to compensate them for what they lost.

    “Daniel Boldi’s clients trusted him to safeguard their money during the homebuying process, but he ultimately betrayed them with his greed,” Donnelly said.

    “The ripple effects of his theft are devastating, leaving victims in a financial hole of more than $6 million,” Donnelly added. “My office won’t allow the people of Nassau County to be cheated by predatory criminals who pose as upstanding professionals. When someone abuses their power like this, we will expose them.”

    Officials allege that between Sept. 8, 2020, and Jan. 17, 2024, Boldi, who owned embezzled the money from victims, ranging from individual homeowners, real estate agents, lenders and other entities for whom he held money in escrow. Boldi committed escrow thefts totaling more than $4.7 million from victims, according to the DA.

    In one instance, on Oct. 31, 2023, a couple retained Boldi to close the sale of their East Meadow home, with Boldi acting as the settlement agent, officials said. He was responsible for sending $309,367 from the buyer’s mortgage lender to pay off the couple’s mortgage.

    Instead, officials said, Boldi falsely claimed the funds hadn’t been posted to his escrow account, prompting a “dry closing” with the deed held in escrow. On Nov. 2, he gave the couple a fake wire transfer confirmation as proof of payment, leading to the release of the deed and completion of the sale. However, the funds were never sent, and the couple remained responsible for mortgage payments on a home they no longer owned, the DA”s office said.

    In another instance, officials said that Boldi provided a private lender with a fraudulent mortgage and title closing records, embezzling $1.15 million through two separate loan thefts between Sept. 8, 2020, and Nov. 7, 2023. Bank records show he spent those funds on personal expenses, including Venmo payments and property investments.

     

     


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    Adina Genn

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