Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced that Douglas Valente, 57, of Florida, the former principal attorney at the Valente Law Group based in Stony Brook, was sentenced today to one and one-third to four years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from three former clients by taking their money from his escrow account.
“An attorney’s duty is to protect their clients’ interests, not exploit them for personal gain,” said District Attorney Tierney. “We will not tolerate crime committed with a law degree any more than we would when committed by violence or deception. This office remains committed to vigorously prosecuting any individual who abuses their position of trust, regardless of their status or profession.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, from April 14, 2020, to May 31, 2020, Valente stole proceeds from the sale of his elderly client’s home in the amount $181,201. The proceeds of the sale were put into Valente’s escrow account. Valente was required to send half of the proceeds to his client and the other half was to be sent to her matrimonial attorney to be held in escrow until her divorce was finalized.
Although Valente did send half of the proceeds to his client, he failed to send the remaining half of the proceeds to her matrimonial attorney. As a result, when his client’s divorce was finalized, she was unable to obtain the remaining proceeds from the sale of her home.
Additionally, from September 28, 2020, through October 13, 2020, Valente stole $248,027 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender. Valente represented the mortgage lender as their attorney and settlement agent in a refinance transaction. Guaranteed Rate Inc. wired money to Valente’s escrow account to be dispersed in the transaction. Valente then failed to send a portion of the money of the refinanced mortgage to the prior mortgage company.
Lastly, between May 14, 2021, through September 30, 2022, Valente stole nearly $400,000 from a client who had sold a home during a pending divorce proceeding. Valente was to hold the proceeds of the sale in his escrow account to be dispersed when the divorce was finalized. Instead, Valente used the funds for business and personal expenses.
On May 18, 2022, the New York Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District disbarred Valente, making him ineligible to practice law in New York State.
On December 6, 2023, Valente pleaded guilty to three counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Class C felonies, before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro.
On August 22, 2024, Justice Ambro sentenced Valente to one and one-third to four years in prison. Justice Ambro also signed Restitution Judgement Orders totaling $826,525 on behalf of Guaranteed Rate Inc. and The Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, who reimbursed two of the victims. Valente was represented by William Keahon, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Donna M. Planty of the Financial Crimes Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Deputy Sheriff Investigator Yvonne Decaro, and Detective Investigator Vincent Neefus of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.