Nassau DA: Attorney Used Phony Documents To Mortgage $300K Out From Under Business Owned By Unwitting Ex-Mother-In-Law, Then Filed Forged Lien Satisfaction To Falsely Show Loan Was Paid Off; Also Allegedly Swiped $171K In Client's Escrow Money From Real Estate Closing In Unrelated Swindle

In Nassau County, New York, Newsday reports:

• A Queens attorney stole more than $470,000 by defrauding a real estate client and falsely taking out a loan as part-owner of a corporation owned by his ex-mother-in-law, Nassau County prosecutors said.
  
  Daniel Spitalnic, 38, an attorney with an office in Great Neck, was arraigned [...] in two separate cases, according to the Nassau County district attorney's office.
  
  Altogether, Spitalnic is charged with three counts of second-degree grand larceny, one count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and one count of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing.
  
  If convicted on the top count, he faces up to 5 to 15 years in prison.
  
  Spitalnic was released on bail of $30,000, bond or cash, [...].
  
  According to acting District Attorney Madeline Singas, Spitalnic represented a family that was selling a home in Manhasset. A purchaser used a check in June for a down payment of $171,500, which was to be held in escrow by Spitalnic pending the closing. The closing on the property was held on Sept. 8, but the escrow money -- minus $7,460 due to a title insurance company -- was never received by the sellers, officials said.
  
  The check issued by Spitalnic to the title insurance company in the amount of $7,460 did not clear due to insufficient funds in the escrow account, prosecutors said.
  
  In March, Spitalnic obtained a $300,000 loan by falsely representing himself as the part-owner and officer of a corporation solely owned by his former mother-in-law, officials said. The loan was secured by a mortgage on a commercial property in Great Neck, and the defendant used the money on personal items such as rent, travel, entertainment, food and other miscellaneous expenses, prosecutors said.
  
  Spitalnic's former mother-in-law became aware of suspicious activity in May when she went to pay real estate taxes and learned that the taxes were already paid by a title company, officials said.
  
  When she confronted the defendant, he said he took out the mortgage because he owed money and told her that she would be paid back, prosecutors said.
  
  Spitalnic then gave the woman a document that claimed the loan had been satisfied. The document, however, which was filed with the Nassau County clerk's office in May, was a forgery, prosecutors said.
  
  In a statement, Singas said Spitalnic "allegedly enriched himself at the expense of his clients" and that "for an attorney to allegedly defraud a former family member and client is particularly troubling."
  
  Spitalnic's attorney, Andrew Stengel, said Thursday that he had no comment.

Source: Nassau DA: Queens attorney stole more than $470,000 from client, ex-mother-in-law.