Attorney Sentenced to Jail for Stealing $650,000 Comp Settlement

Thursday, March 25, 2021 | 0

A disbarred New York attorney was ordered to spend one to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a workers’ compensation settlement to help pay restitution following his conviction for stealing nearly $230,000 from another client, according to a report by the Suffolk Daily Voice.

Alfred DiGiolomo Jr. pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny in December for defrauding two clients in a workers’ compensation case.

Prosecutors said DiGiolomo in 2016 fraudulently coordinated a $100,000 loan from one client to a married couple pursuing a federal workers’ compensation claim. DiGiolomo reportedly said the couple would repay the loan with interest when they received their settlement, but he did not tell the couple about the loan.

Instead, he allegedly forged the husband’s signature on the agreement and deposited $100,000 into his business account.

In October 2018, he pocketed $125,000 from a real estate transaction that was supposed to go to a client.

In April 2019, DiGiolomo pleaded guilty to grand larceny charges and was ordered to pay $230,000 in restitution.

In June 2019, he received a $650,000 settlement check from the married couple’s comp claim, signed their names on the check without their consent and deposited the money into his business account.

He used $130,000 to complete restitution from his previous conviction. The rest of the money was used for credit card payments, to eat out at restaurants, furnish his home and cover business expenses.

Although DiGiolomo was entitled to only $195,000 in fees and expenses for his work in the case, by November 2019 just $800 of the settlement remained.