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Aaron S. Friedmann, of Conshohocken, pleaded guilty on Aug. 23 to theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and access device fraud, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.
President Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. sentenced Friedmann to 15 to 30 months and 10 years of probation on Monday.
He was also ordered to repay the $981,023 he stole from his client and cousin, Dr. Sheldon S. Farber, DA Matt Weintraub said. Most of the money was designated for charity organizations, authorities noted.
The investigation began in March 2017 when Lower Southampton police received a theft report from a lawyer representing Farber's estate, who died four years earlier, the DA's office said.
The attorney told investigators that Farber created a will in Dec. 2006 named Friedmann as the will's executor, authorities said.
Friedmann was in charge of the estate's finances while working as an attorney for the Disability Law Advocates Group in Philadelphia, including access to a Citizens Bank account, authorities said.
On Feb. 14, 2013, a check for $200,000 was written out of Farber's estate account and deposited into a bank account belonging to Disability Law Advocates Group, according to the DA's office.
Investigators later discovered a total of 81 fraudulent transactions committed by written checks or withdrawals from Farber’s estate account to the group's bank account or Friedmann’s personal bank account, authorities said.
Authorities allege Friedmann stole in excess of $981,023.
“You stole the legacy of a very generous and kind man,” the DA's office said citing Judge Bateman.
This case was investigated by the Lower Southampton Township Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jose A. Perez.
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