F
ormer Real Estate Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Over $800,000
A disbarred lawyer has been sentenced to serve time in prison for stealing over $800,000 from three clients in a series of unsophisticated schemes. Douglas Valente, who was a member of the Valente Law Group, was sentenced to one and one-third to four years of incarceration. He operated out of Stony Brook before relocating to Florida.
The crimes took place during the pandemic year of 2020, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. In April of that year, Valente received over $180,000 from the sale of an elderly client's home. Half of the proceeds were supposed to go to the client, while the other half was supposed to be held in an escrow account managed by a matrimonial attorney representing another client in a divorce case. However, Valente failed to send the necessary funds to the matrimonial attorney.
Later in 2020, Valente stole $248,000 from mortgage lender Guaranteed Rate. He was representing the company as an attorney and settlement agent in a refinancing transaction. When Guaranteed Rate wired money to Valente to be dispersed, he failed to pass along the required portion of funds to the prior mortgage company.
In a scheme that unfolded over a year and a half, Valente stole approximately $400,000 from a client selling a home during a divorce. As an attorney, Valente was supposed to hold the sales proceeds in an escrow account until the divorce was finalized. Instead, he took the money for his own use.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney condemned Valente's actions, stating, "An attorney's duty is to protect their clients' interests, not exploit them for personal gain." In addition to his prison sentence, Valente was ordered to pay restitution to Guaranteed Rate and to the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, which compensated the other two victims.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of ethical behavior in the legal profession and the need for robust client protection measures. It also underscores the importance of thorough background checks when hiring an attorney to ensure that clients' interests are safeguarded.
