NYC Real Estate Attorney Pleads To Stealing $14.6M From Clients

New York City NY

14 December, 2021

9:35 AM

Description

NEW YORK CITY — A New York real estate attorney faces up to more than 13 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to stealing more than $14.6 million from clients for personal use, including paying back those he had stolen from in the past, prosecutors said Monday. Mitchell Kossoff, 68, admitted to stealing from 35 clients and companies over a 3 ½ year period. In addition to paying back clients he had previously ripped off with money that did not belong to him, he also filtered money into accounts to help support a struggling family business, Burton Packaging Company, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said Monday. Kossoff also used the funds to pay personal expenses, including $16,000 for monthly credit card bills and other personal debt as well as $19,000 in rent he paid every month for a luxury apartment in Manhattan, Vance said. Kossoff is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22 and faces between 4 ½ years to 13 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of scheming to defraud and first- second-, and third-degree grand larceny. In addition to the prison time he faces, Kossoff must also repay more than $14.6 million and must surrender his condominium in New Jersey, Vance said. "In order to finance his own business and lifestyle, Mitchell Kossoff stole huge sums of money that belonged to people who trusted him," Vance said in a news release. "Now, he will serve a significant sentence." Kossoff opened his own real estate law firm in 2013 and routinely collected and held funds in attorney escrow accounts for clients and others associated with client business. Starting in Dec. 2017 and running through April 2021, Vance said that Kossoff made unauthorized transfers from the escrow accounts and into accounts he controlled. Earlier this year, in an effort to conceal the thefts, Vance said Kossoff asked several clients to deposit money into his escrow accounts under false pretenses, and then used those funds to pay back other clients. In March, multiple clients realized that Kossoff had failed to transfer funds according to their escrow agreements with him and contacted him and other employees of his firm. When these clients were not able to reach Kossoff they called the police.