Lynbrook man arrested for allegedly stealing more than $100,000 from homeowners

Nassau D.A.: Cesar Roberts accused of impersonating a lawyer

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A Lynbrook man was arrested for allegedly impersonating an attorney and stealing more than $100,000 from homeowners he represented.

Caesar Roberts, 56, was arraigned Wednesday before Judge Paul Meli on charges of second- and third-degree grand larceny and violation of certain sections of the judiciary law. Bail was set at $100,000 cash or bond, and the defendant is due back in court Nov. 17. If convicted of the top count, he faces five to 15 years in prison.

“This defendant allegedly posed as an attorney to con his innocent victims out of their hard-earned money, and then squandered six figures on his own personal expenses,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a release.

According to Singas, from August 2013 until August 2014, Roberts misrepresented himself as an attorney, practicing under the name of “The Law Office of Caesar Consulting & Advisory Group, Inc.” He was retained by the Brooklyn-based victims in August 2013 to represent them regarding a foreclosure judgment, and later a mortgage modification on properties they owned. During this period, the victims allegedly paid Roberts more than $175,000 for his services, and he allegedly spent $20,000 for the foreclosure judgment, and returned $30,000 to the homeowners, however more than $100,000 was not returned.

“To satisfy his own greed, this defendant allegedly put the home of a Brooklyn man at risk,” Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo said in a statement. “Financially-struggling homeowners need genuine help; they don’t deserve to be victimized by selfish con-artists.”

In April 2017, the homeowners wrote a letter to the Roberts, asking for the return of their unused funds, but he failed to return them, and allegedly spent them on travel, entertainment, automobile and living expenses.

The New York State Department of Financial Services referred this case to the NCDA in July of 2015, and a joint investigation was conducted.

Chief of the Government and Consumer Frauds Bureau, Marshall Trager is prosecuting this case. Roberts is represented by the Legal Aid Society.