Friday, March 30, 2012

Florida Lawyer Gets Six Years For Looting $2.4M+ Of Entrusted Funds Belonging To Clients

In Fort Myers, Florida, Gulf Coast Business Review reports:
  • U.S. District Judge John Steele sentenced Fort Myers attorney Joseph Troiano, 63, [...] to six years in federal prison for mail and wire fraud. Steele also ordered Troiano to pay restitution to his victims totaling nearly $2.5 million. A jury convicted Troiano in November of six counts of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud for misusing client funds.


  • He used $2.4 million of client money to pay off loans and invest in real estate from 2005 to 2010 without his clients’ permission, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill.(1)

Source: Fort Myers attorney sentenced.

(1) The Florida Bar's Clients' Security Fund was established to reimburse clients who have suffered a loss due to misappropriation or embezzle­ment by a Florida-licensed attorney.

For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that sometimes help cover the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.