Disbarred lawyer charged with stealing $3M from clients
A former New York lawyer was arrested by federal authorities on Thursday and charged with wire fraud for allegedly stealing some $3 million from clients over a seven-year period, starting in 2008.
Stuart Schlesinger, 75, is charged with one count of wire fraud after allegedly lying to eight clients in phone calls and emails, telling them he hadn’t received their settlement money. Meanwhile, the feds say in a criminal complaint, he used the money for law firm and personal expenses, according to the New York Daily News and the New York Law Journal (sub. req.).
His lawyer, Stacey Richman, called the allegations “a tragic situation” against “a man of excellence” who has reportedly been in practice for 50 years after earning a law degree at Fordham University.
Schlesinger practiced at Julien & Schlesinger, where he specialized in medical malpractice, for more than 30 years.
He was disbarred by consent in September for misusing nearly $600,000 in client funds, as the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) reported at the time.
