Douglas Valente, 57, of Florida, the former principal attorney at the Valente Law Group based in Stony Brook, was sentenced to one and one-third to four years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from three former clients by taking their money from his escrow account. The announcement was made by Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.
“An attorney’s duty is to protect their clients’ interests, not exploit them for personal gain,” said District Attorney Tierney. “We will not tolerate crime committed with a law degree any more than we would when committed by violence or deception. This office remains committed to vigorously prosecuting any individual who abuses their position of trust, regardless of their status or profession.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, from April 14, 2020, to May 31, 2020, Valente stole proceeds from the sale of his elderly client’s home amounting to $181,201. The proceeds were placed into Valente’s escrow account. He was required to send half of the proceeds to his client and the other half to her matrimonial attorney until her divorce was finalized.
Although Valente did send half of the proceeds to his client, he failed to send the remaining half to her matrimonial attorney. Consequently, when his client’s divorce was finalized, she could not obtain the remaining proceeds from the sale of her home.
Additionally, from September 28, 2020, through October 13, 2020, Valente stole $248,027 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender. Representing Guaranteed Rate Inc. as their attorney and settlement agent in a refinance transaction, Valente received funds wired into his escrow account but failed to send a portion of these funds to the prior mortgage company.
Between May 14, 2021, through September 30, 2022, Valente stole nearly $400,000 from another client who had sold a home during a pending divorce proceeding. Instead of holding these funds in escrow until the divorce was finalized as required, Valente used them for business and personal expenses.
On May 18, 2022, the New York Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District disbarred Valente.
On December 6, 2023, Valente pleaded guilty to three counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro.
On August 22, 2024, Justice Ambro sentenced Valente and signed Restitution Judgement Orders totaling $826,525 on behalf of Guaranteed Rate Inc. and The Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection. William Keahon represented Valente.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Donna M. Planty of the Financial Crimes Bureau and investigated by Deputy Sheriff Investigator Yvonne Decaro and Detective Investigator Vincent Neefus of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
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