Ex-attorney arrested for alleged theft

Disbarred litigator DiGirolomo was sentenced to prison for stealing $675K from clients in ‘21

BY ROBERT PELAEZ

A disbarred attorney from Manhasset that was convicted of stealing $675,000 from clients in 2021 was arrested last week for allegedly practicing law without authorization and stealing more than $21,000 from a client, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office.

Alfred DiGirolomo, 67, pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny in the second degree in December 2020 for stealing $675,000 from two clients and pleaded guilty to one count of grand larceny in the second degree on April 4, 2019, for stealing nearly $230,000 from a separate client.

He was sentenced to prison on March 22, 2021, and was ordered to pay $680,000 of restitution by civil judgment, according to officials. He was disbarred in April 2019.

An investigation by the Nassau County District Attorney’s office revealed that DiGirolomo allegedly worked with a client who hired him in 2016 from April 2019-February 2021. He also allegedly requested $5,000 in attorney fees on separate occasions later in 2019 despite already being disbarred, officials said.

“Less than two months after pleading guilty to grand larceny charges and losing his license to practice law, this defendant allegedly solicited purported attorney fees from an existing client and defiantly continued to pro- vide representation,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. “The defendant allegedly falsely told his client that he resolved the underlying matter, stole more than $21,000 from him, and ultimately caused him to receive a notice of default on the case for failing to appear at multiple court dates.”

DiGirolomo also allegedly made false claims to his client that he was able to negotiate a settlement resolving a civil matter for more than $11,000, according to the district attorney’s office.

The investigation revealed the plaintiff in the civil matter did not agree to settle and DiGirolomo’s offer of settling had been rejected, officials said.

He was arraigned on Tuesday and charged with third-degree grand larceny and practice of law by an attorney who has been disbarred, suspended, or convicted of a felony. If convicted, officials said, he faces anywhere from 2-1/2 — 7 years in prison, officials said.

Efforts to reach law enforcement officials for further comment on the matter were unavailing.

DiGirolomo fraudulently coordinated a funding agreement between two clients in February 2016, officials said. The agreement was for client one, a married couple in a federal workers’ compensation case, to obtain a $100,000 loan with interest from client two. DiGirolomo made the agree-