Appellate court disbars Pelham Manor attorney

A Pelham Manor attorney has been disbarred for stealing $500,000 from a business for which he worked.

Jonathan Ian Friedman asked the Second Appellate Division last March to accept his resignation as an attorney, acknowledging that he was being investigated by the attorney grievance committee for Westchester and nearby counties.

A panel of five appellate justices granted his request on Nov. 30.

Friedman had practiced law for about 27 years and operated JPL Partners in the Bronx and from his home in Pelham Manor.

He was general counsel for PT Network LLC, a national physical therapy chain based in Towson, Maryland.

He acknowledged to the appellate court that he was being investigated for professional misconduct for allegedly diverting $500,000 from PT Network to two fictional outside vendors.

Friedman declared that he cannot successfully defend himself against the allegations, the court noted, based on the facts and circumstances.

He attested that he had repaid $770,000 to PT Network for misappropriated funds, interest, audit fees, legal fees and investigative costs.

He also consented to the court’s authority to order him to reimburse or pay restitution to the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection.