Attorney Gets 10 to 20 Years in $300K 'Adoption Ponzi Scheme'
A New York lawyer has been sentenced to a 10- to 20-year prison term for operating a scam in which he stole some $300,000 from would-be adoptive parents by pretending to be in the process of supplying them with children.
But, in fact, the children didn’t exist: Attorney Kevin Cohen of Long Island had used faked sonograms, among other seeming evidence that they did exist, to persuade 13 families to give him their money, according to the New York Law Journal and the Associated Press.
Cohen, who represented himself at trial in the Nassau County case, had attempted to assert an insanity defense, which the judge refused to allow him to do. This is expected to be a basis of an appeal, says attorney Adam Moser, who was appointed to advise Cohen.
“It’s a sad day for Kevin and his family and a sad day for all the victims,” Moser told the New York Law Journal in an interview.
But Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Cohen called the case a straightforward “crime of greed.”
Cohen will be automatically disbarred as a result of his conviction.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Ran ‘Adoption Ponzi Scheme,’ Prosecutors Say”
ABAJournal.com: “Jailed Attorney Charged with Assault, Accused of Hogging Copier Before Trial”
