Articles Posted in White Collar Crimes

NY “white collar” criminal defense attorneys often have the chips stacked against them when their clients are alleged to be involved in a criminal case where a scheme alleging Forgery, Grand Larceny and Falsifying Business Records transpired over a period of years. Obviously, unlike the prosecution, when a client is first arrested or indicted on a long term investigation, criminal defense lawyers may not be privy to the extent of investigation that has taken place, the witness who have given statements or the records that have been subpoenaed. What makes a case even more “interesting” is when the alleged criminal actions occurred years ago. It is imperative that upon being retained, any criminal defense attorney immediately begins to conduct his or her own investigation starting with a lengthy and open conversation with the client. As former Manhattan prosecutors, the criminal defense attorney’s at Saland Law PC can’t stress enough how important this is and how it has helped our clients charged in these schemes.

A case directly on point was just announced today by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. According to the Robert Morgenthau’s Office, Lawrence Salander, an art dealer, has been indicted on multiple charges of Grand Larceny, Securities Fraud, Scheme to Defraud, Forgery, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument and Falsifying Business Records. The crimes charged in the indictment occurred between July 1994 and November 2007. It is alleged that Salander stole from his victims by selling artwork not owned by him and keeping the money. Moreover, he is accused of luring investment money in fraudulent investment opportunities. If convicted of the top count in this indictment, Salander faces up to 8 and 1/3 to 25 years in state prison.

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The criminal offenses commonly referred to as White Collar and Fraud crimes recently added a new offense to their ranks. As of November 1, 2008, Residential Mortgage Fraud, pursuant to New York Penal Law Sections 187.05 (Fifth Degree), 187.10 (Fourth Degree), 187.15 (Third Degree), 187.20 (Second Degree) and 187.25 (First Degree), was added to New York’s Penal Law. In addition to this crime involving Mortgage Fraud, another statute related to this offense and addressed in another entry is Fraudulent Disposition of Mortgaged Property, an “A” misdemeanor pursuant to New York Penal Law section 185.10.

Penal Law 187.00(4) defines Residential Mortgage Fraud as follows: Any person who, knowingly and with intent to defraud, presents, causes to be presented, or prepares with knowledge or belief that it will be used in soliciting an applicant for a residential mortgage loan, or in applying for, the underwriting of, or closing of a residential mortgage loan, or in documents filed with a county clerk of any county in the state arising out of and related to the closing of a residential mortgage loan, any written statement which he or she knows to:

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Whether you are alleged to have committed a Grand Larceny theft in excess of $50,000 or a Petit Larceny shoplifting, your NY White Collar criminal defense attorney knows that if the prosecution does not establish each element of the crime, the case should be dismissed. Recently, a New York State Supreme Court Justice in Nassau County followed this rule when it dismissed four counts of Grand Larceny and one count of Scheme to Defraud against a defendant in connection to New York State’s Lien Law.

In People v. Bryan Hateau , 2492N-2008, the defendant had received checks from his clients, homeowners, that he deposited legally in his business account. Those monies were held in trust funds and were to be forwarded on behalf of various clients within 31 days to sub-contractors. The evidence before the Grand Jury established that this was not done. Unfortunately for the prosecution, the evidence before the Grand Jury did not establish that the defendant misappropriated those funds.

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I have blogged extensively on the criminal law and specifically as it relates to New York criminal defense and the charges of Grand Larceny and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property. In fact, as criminal defense attorney at Saland Law PC and a former Manhattan prosecutor, I have successfully handled these crimes more times than I can count. In the past year alone, I represented two clients in Manhattan Supreme Court both of whom avoided jail. One of those individuals was alleged to have stolen multiple millions of dollars while the other was alleged to have stolen property valued in the multiple tens of thousands of dollars. While the charges may be the same – Grand Larceny – each crime and each person accused requires a unique and individualized plan of attack to analyze and implement a formidable defense. These crimes are not going away any time soon.

Only yesterday, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced the indictment of Richard Garaventa, Jr. for stealing $2,514,519 from his former employer, Morgan Stanley. Mr.Garaventa is accused of issuing fifty checks that he ultimately funneled back to himself for a period of approximately seven years. The checks ranged in value from about $8,000 to over $70,000. Mr. Garaventa is charged with Grand Larceny in the First Degree, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the First Degree and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.

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As NY criminal defense attorneys and former Manhattan prosecutors, the lawyers at Saland Law PC, have handled cases involving Money Laundering, Grand Larceny, Scheme to Defraud and Offering a False Instrument for Filing. However, there is always a little “twist” when the accused is a member of your own profession. Only a couple of weeks ago I mentioned how important it is to investigate and research your attorney before retaining him or her. Well, once again, some people made a big mistake in retaining the wrong attorney. According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, an attorney and his firm have been indicted from the crimes of Money Laundering, Grand Larceny, Scheme to Defraud and Offering a False Instrument for Filing for defrauding clients.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office press release, it is alleged that over the course of approximately seven years, Steven Rondos and his law firm, Raia & Rondos, P.C, “engaged in a scheme to defraud 23 incapacitated victims, and the estate of one deceased individual.” It is further alleged that “Mr. Rondos was appointed by various Supreme Court Justices in the New York City metropolitan area and elsewhere as legal guardian of property of incapacitated individuals. In that capacity, Mr. Rondos was responsible for safeguarding and managing the assets of incapacitated people. Instead, Mr. Rondos took advantage of the trust placed in him by the courts and the wards’ families and stole their money. In some instances, Mr. Rondos continued to steal money even after the victims had died.” In total, Mr. Rondos is accused of pocketing millions of his clients’ money and law enforcement is seeking asset forfeiture from him in the neighborhood of $5,000,000.

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Charged with Bribe Receiving in the Second Degree and Third Degrees (class “C” and “D” felonies punishable by up to 15 and 7 years in state prison respectively), Carlos Perez, the ex-director at Bellevue, recently pleaded guilty to the lesser Bribe Receiving offense. Today, present with his criminal defense attorney in NY County (Manhattan) Supreme Court, Mr. Perez was sentenced to five years probation for the scheme that he perpetrated. In addition to probation, Mr. Perez will also forfeit $25,000.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s website, Mr. Perez’s guilty plea “stems from Mr. Perez’s efforts to assist a company obtain a contract with Bellevue Hospital for the transcription of medical records.”

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You don’t have to stick up a bank to steal over a million dollars. Well, at least that is what the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is alleging in an indictment for Grand Larceny that was handed down against Robert Chiarappa. Mr. Chiarappa, along with his criminal defense attorney, was scheduled to be arraigned in NY County Supreme Court on the Grand Larceny charges today.

According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Mr. Chiarappa was the purchasing agent for the John Galt Corporation and is alleged to have stolen $1.2 million from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and Arch Insurance Group in connection to the abatement and deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building.

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NY criminal defense attorneys know that the crime of Enterprise Corruption is often viewed as New York’s RICO statute. Generally, a person is guilty of Enterprise Corruption “when, having knowledge of the existence of a criminal enterprise ad the nature of its activities and being employed by or associated with such enterprise,” he either (a) “intentionally conducts or participates in the affairs of an enterprise by participating in a pattern of criminal activity,” (b) “intentionally acquires or maintains any interest in or control of an enterprise by participating in a pattern of criminal activity” or (c) “participates in a pattern of criminal activity and knowingly invests any proceeds derived from that conduct, or any proceeds derived from the investment or use of those proceeds, in an enterprise.”

Although the statute does not seem to complicated on it’s face, the criminal defense attorneys at Saland Law PC, can tell you that not only is it a convoluted statute, but many of the seemingly simple terms in the statute have their own unique definitions. Each of these terms and the cases that define those terms must be analyzed and researched in order to successfully challenge an indictment for Enterprise Corruption.

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As a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and as a NY criminal defense attorney I have handled too many crimes relating to Petit and Grand Larceny than I can count. As a prosecutor I supervised, among other cases, the investigations and prosecutions of a multi-million dollar “pump and dump” stock scheme in conjunction with the SEC and a multi-million dollar extortion attempt of an NBA All-Star. Over the past few months I successfully represented clients in two separate Grand Larceny cases. In one, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged my client with a “B” felony for allegedly “stealing” approximately $5,000,000 dollars of city and state taxes (including penalties). The District Attorney’s Office charged my other client with a “D” felony for allegedly stealing in the neighborhood of $25,000 in property from multiple people. Despite the significant amount of alleged theft, neither of my clients went to jail or prison as a result of their conduct. One of their dispositions even included an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD) despite an admission by the client as to the alleged criminal activity. While we at Saland Law PC can’t guarantee any particular result in a criminal matter, we can certainly guarantee that we will work tirelessly on each case so that we give you the best opportunity to get you where you want, and need, to be.

While there are many good criminal defense attorneys, it is important that your criminal defense attorney will not only travel down any ethical and legal road on your behalf, but is familiar with the nuances of the statute or statutes you are charged with. That being said, we are going to address those nuances of the statutes relating to Larceny.

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