Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a disbarred attorney has been re-arrested for allegedly practicing law without authorization and stealing $21,500 from a client in supposed attorney fees and settlement funds he falsely claimed he had negotiated on behalf of his client.
Alfred DiGirolomo, Jr., 67, of Manhasset, was arraigned yesterday before Judge Joseph Nocella on charges of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a D felony) and Practice of Law by an Attorney who has been disbarred, suspended, or convicted of a felony (an A misdemeanor). The defendant pleaded not guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces up to 2-1/3 to 7 years in prison.
The defendant previously pleaded guilty to grand larceny charges and was disbarred. DiGirolomo was sentenced on March 22, 2021, for both cases by Judge Teresa Corrigan to 1 and 1/3 years to 4 years in prison, and he was ordered to pay $680,000 of restitution by civil judgment.
The next scheduled court date is April 27, 2023.
“Less than two months after pleading guilty to grand larceny charges and losing his license to practice law, this defendant allegedly solicited purported attorney fees from an existing client and defiantly continued to provide representation,” said DA Donnelly. “The defendant allegedly falsely told his client that he resolved the underlying matter, stole more than $21,000 from him, and ultimately caused him to receive a notice of default on the case for failing to appear at multiple court dates.”
DA Donnelly said that, according to the charges, between April 2019 and February 2021, DiGirolomo, despite having been disbarred from practicing law effective April 4, 2019, allegedly continued to work with a client who had hired him in 2016 to represent him in a civil matter.
DiGirolomo allegedly requested $5,000 in purported attorney fees on two separate occasions in September 2019 and November 2019, after the defendant had been disbarred.
The defendant also allegedly made false representations to his client that he was able to negotiate a settlement that would resolve the civil matter, in which his client was the defendant, for $11,500. The victim provided the defendant with the funds in December 2019, believing the matter had been resolved.
NCDA’s investigation revealed that the plaintiff in the civil case had not agreed to settle the matter, and that DiGirolomo had allegedly made an offer that had been rejected. The defendant allegedly continued to hold himself out as an attorney after his client believed the case had been settled, corresponding with the plaintiff’s attorney and the court.
In July 2022, the victim received a Notice of Default from the court and learned that his case had not been resolved, that the matter had appeared on the court’s calendar multiple times where DiGirolomo failed to appear, and that the case was, in fact, still pending in court.
Senior Investigative Counsel Jennifer Contreras of the Financial Crimes Bureau is prosecuting this case. Kim Kaufmann of the Legal Aid Society represents the defendant.
The charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.