Aging Long Island Lawyer Gets Re-Arrested For Allegedly Fleecing Dead Client's Estate Out Of Over $500K; Earlier Arrest Accusations Involved Alleged Pilfering Of $400K+ From Another Dead Client

From the Office of the Nassau County, New York District Attorney:

• Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a disbarred attorney was re-arrested [] for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from an estate he represented.(1)
  
  Robert Alan Wagner, 63, of Bellmore, was arraigned [] before Judge Scott Siller and is charged with grand larceny in the second degree (a C felony). The defendant was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on December 2. Wagner faces up to five to 15 years in prison if convicted.
  
  “This defendant allegedly abused the trust placed in him as an attorney and stole more than $500,000 from the estate of a deceased man,” said DA Singas. “We will aggressively prosecute this case and seek restitution for the victim.”
  
  DA Singas said that Wagner was first arrested and charged with grand larceny in the second degree in September 2016 for allegedly stealing more than $400,000 from an estate he represented. At that time, he was released on $200,000 bail with a requirement that he wear a monitor tracking device as well as that he surrender his passport.
  
  ***
  The defendant allegedly used the money for personal purposes, including cash withdrawals in excess of $250,000 and payments to support his law practice.
  
  The defendant was legally practicing law when he was retained, but was disbarred by the Appellate Division of the New York State Court of Appeals on March 11, 2015, proximate to the time when he was to facilitate the transfer of estate funds. The disbarment was unrelated to this matter.

Source: Disbarred Attorney Re-Arrested For Stealing More than $500,000 from Estate Funds.

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(1) The Lawyers’ Fund For Client Protection Of the State of New York manages and distributes money collected from annual dues paid by members of the state bar to members of the public who have sustained a financial loss caused by the dishonest conduct of a member of the New York bar acting as an attorney or a fiduciary.

For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that attempt to clean up the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (now includes a listing for Canadian client protection funds, courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

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