Two (Now Disbarred) New York Attorneys Charged With Client Ripoffs Totalling About $200K

From the Queens County, NY District Attorney's Office:

• Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced [Wednesday] that two attorneys have been charged separately with looting their respective escrow accounts and failing to return money they had been holding for clients. District Attorney Brown said, “According to the charges, the defendants not only violated the trust that their clients placed in them but they let down the entire legal system which counts on members of the bar to conduct themselves in an ethical matter. Each of the attorneys has been disbarred, and each now faces serious criminal charges.” District Attorney Brown identified the defendants as Arelia Taveras, 46, presently of Bloomington, Minnesota, and Mark Jacobs, 58, of Glen Head, New York.

The alleged thefts took place primarily in connection with real estate transactions. For more, see the Queens DA Press Release - Two Queens Attorneys Charged With Raiding Their Escrow Accounts And Stealing Nearly $200,000 From Clients.

For those ripped off due to dishonest conduct by a New York attorney and are trying to recover some or all of your loss, see The Lawyers Fund for Client Protection of the State of New York for more information.

For other states, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (American Bar Association - November, 2007);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map; or
• try this "Google" search. sneaky slick escrow agents beta