Disbarred New Jersey Attorney Cops Plea To Illegally Pocketing Client Cash From Closing Proceeds In Real Estate Transactions

From the Monmouth County, New Jersey Prosecutor's Office:

• On May 11, 2009, Gary Edelson, 48, formerly of Red Bank, N.J., appeared in Monmouth County Superior Court and pled guilty to the crime of second degree Misapplication of Entrusted Property. The charge resulted from an investigation which was conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office regarding funds that Edelson, an attorney, illegally retained in and dispersed from his attorney trust account.

***

• During the course of his representation of his clients in [various] transactions, Edelson deposited large sums of his clients’ money into his attorney trust account. [...] The investigation further revealed that instead of disbursing his clients’ funds in order to finalize the real estate transactions as Edelson was required to do, Edelson instead illegally retained and disposed of more than $300,000 which he was holding in trust. The investigation also revealed that Edelson used funds from his trust account to pay for personal expenses such as his rent, medical insurance, office expenses, and taxes, and that he improperly transferred funds from his trust account into his business account.

For the entire Monmouth County Prosecutor's press release, see Former Red Bank Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Misapplication of Client Funds.

If a New Jersey attorney, in the course of representing you, screws you out of money or property through dishonest conduct, go to the New Jersey Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection for more information.

For other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.