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Douglas Valente, age 57, of Florida, pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Valente was formerly the principal attorney at the Valente Law Group based in Stony Brook.
He admitted that between April 2020 and September 2022, he stole more than $829,000 from three clients, according to the Suffolk County DA’s office.
An investigation found that Valente stole more than $181,000 in proceeds from the sale of an elderly client’s home. The money – placed into Valente’s escrow account – was supposed to be transferred to the victim’s divorce lawyer.
As a result of the theft, when the client’s divorce was finalized, she was unable to obtain the remaining proceeds from the home sale, prosecutors said.
Valente also confessed to stealing over $248,000 from mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate Inc. in a refinance transaction. Because of the theft, the company had to pay off the existing mortgage in that amount.
Investigators determined that he stole another $400,000 from a client who had sold a home due to a pending divorce. He admitted spending the money on business and personal expenses.
“Over more than two years, this defendant used his attorney escrow account as his own personal slush fund when he took money belonging to his clients and used it for personal and business expenses,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“No one is above the law, and my office will continue to prosecute attorneys and other professionals who choose to steal from their clients.”
In court Wednesday, Valente pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree grand larceny, all felonies.
He is due back in court on Monday, Dec. 11.
The New York Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District disbarred him, making him ineligible to practice law in New York State.
Valente’s plea comes one day after a Syosset attorney was arrested and accused of stealing over $200k from her clients, including a lottery winner.
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