Disbarred Bellmore attorney gets 1-3 years for stealing $900K from clients

A disbarred Bellmore attorney was sentenced to 1-3 years in prison on Monday for stealing more than $900,000 from his clients, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.

Robert Alan Wagner, 63, of Bellmore, pleaded guilty before Judge Robert Bogle on March 20 to two counts of Grand Larceny in the second-degree and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $597,024.10 for stealing from his clients' estates.

In a release, Singas said that Wagner was first arrested and charged in September 2016 for allegedly stealing more than $400,000 from an estate that he represented. At that time, he was released on $200,000 bail with a requirement that he wear a tracking device and surrender his passport.

Wagner was retained by the administrator of a French estate to facilitate the transfer of money from the decedent's Suffolk County-based bank accounts to accounts in France in November 2013. He was not authorized to distribute, transfer or use the estate funds, but an investigation revealed that Wagner allegedly transferred the estate funds into four of his own Nassau County-based bank accounts between June 2014 and January 2016, ultimately stealing more than $500,000, according to investigators.

Between May 2014 and April 2015, the French estate administrator repeatedly attempted to contact Wagner to verify the status of the funds transfer. During that time, Wagner allegedly gave false excuses, saying that he was attending to personal and family health issues, was on vacation, or was awaiting for court approval to transfer funds. He used the money for personal purposes, including cash withdrawals in excess of $250,000 and payments to support his law practice, officials said.

The investigation continued after the second arrest and revealed an additional victim and client theft from a Family Trust of approximately $11,000, according to Singas. In total, Wagner stole more than $900,000.00 from his clients.

Wagner was legally practicing law when he was retained, but was disbarred by the Appellate Division of the New York State Court of Appeals on March 11, 2015, for unrelated reasons, Singas said.

"This defendant swindled his clients, stealing more than $900,000 and used it to enrich himself and his business," Singas said. "Our Government and Consumer Frauds Bureau has prosecuted more than 15 attorneys in recent years for scamming their clients and this sentence should send a clear message that lawyers who break the law will face serious consequences."

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Contreras of DA Singas' Government & Consumer Frauds Bureau is prosecuting the case. Wagner is represented by Joel R. Weiss, Esq

Wagner's attorney, Joel Weiss, of Uniondale, told the Herald previously that Wagner had "paid back every cent to the beneficiaries, and in addition, surrendered his law license."