Armonk lawyer Laurieanne DeLitta has been disbarred and ordered to pay nearly $1.5 million, and possibly another $2.2 million, for stealing money from clients.
DeLitta misappropriated funds and engaged in fraud, deceit and misrepresentation, according to a May 19 ruling by five justices of the Second Appellate Division.
DeLitta had responded to five complaints last November by asking to resign as an attorney, admitting that she cannot successfully defend herself against allegations of professional misconduct.
The appellate court granted her resignation and disbarred her.
She was ordered to pay restitution of $500,813 to Ira T. Cohen, $600,000 to the estate of Naomi Wundeler, $230,822 to Joseph Vallarelli, and $130,000 to Roberta Stein-Ham.
She must also reimburse the Lawyers”™ Fund for Client Protection, for money it paid to victims, and to anyone else who has filed or may file claims against her.
Five lawsuits pending in Westchester Supreme Court accuse her of stealing another $2.2 million, bringing the total possible damages to $3.7 million.
DeLitta, of Briarcliff Manor, has practiced law since 2001 and has run her own firm in Armonk since 2010.
She put money from real estate sales in her firm”™s escrow account, to be held temporarily while obligations were cleared, according to several lawsuits, but when clients demanded their portions of the deals she allegedly made excuses and eventually stopped communicating.
In January, for example, she handled the sale of a property in the Bronx for 3020 Philip Holding LLC, according to a lawsuit filed a week before the appellate court sanctioned her. She “took possession” of $495,000 but has refused to turn the money over to her client.
Mary Mariani of White Plains hired DeLitta in 2018 to handle the sale of a condominium in Larchmont, according to a lawsuit filed the day after she was disbarred.
DeLitta allegedly received checks totaling $713,879, and Mariani understood that the money would remain in the escrow account until a tax issue concerning her deceased husband was settled with the IRS.
DeLitta had also agreed to pay Mariani”™s monthly rent at Bristol Assisted Living in White Plains, where she had moved, according to the complaint. But DeLitta frequently failed to make the payments.
The tax issue was settled in April, the complaint states, and the escrow account held $486,258. But DeLitta has allegedly stopped responding to communications from family members.
Great article. When a lawyer steals, legal malpractice typically doesn’t cover the loss. Malpractice is for situations where a lawyer misses a deadline or makes a mistake. Stealing trust account monies is an intentional act and not covered. Most states have client protection funds but in most states there are limits on how much the fund must pay in any single case or on behalf of any single claimant.
If you think your lawyer has defrauded you, dont waste anytime. In many states the time period to sue a lawyer is only 1 or 2 years. (It is three in NY).