Summary: After being convicted for second-degree larceny 14 years ago, a disbarred attorney steals money from clients.
Apparently not all of us learn from our mistakes. Brooklyn attorney Domenick Crispino got in trouble and was disbarred in 1999 for stealing money from clients. This time around he has been charged with 21 counts of second-degree grand larceny, second-degree criminal possession of a forged document, practicing law without a license and more.
Crispino’s recent scam involves pilfering more than $1 million in personal experiences and disguising it as real estate transactions. The scheme lasted from February 2011 until June, when it was discovered.
Crispino arranged for his friend to divert home loan payments to Crispino’s sham company. His friend would hold the payments in escrow while negotiating the loan terms with the bank. Crispino then created fake escrow agreements to prove the money was being held when in actuality he was spending the money.
Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said in a statement, “This defendant allegedly concocted elaborate schemes to defraud in which he stole money from acquaintances and strangers, falsely claimed to be an attorney when it suited his scheme, and filed numerous forged documents with public agencies.”
Crispino has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison. He was held on $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash bail. In 2001, he was convicted in the Manhattan Supreme Court of several charges including second-degree grand larceny.
Crispino graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and was admitted to the bar in 1988.
Photo: mcc-news.com