A North Carolina man has filed a lawsuit against New York accounting firm Advanced Taxation Practice, LLC and its principals for allegedly misappropriating funds intended for unemployment benefits.
The lawsuit filed by plaintiff Moustafa Torky accuses Advanced Taxation Practice, LLC, Ahmad E. Seyam, and Abdelrafea Salama of fraud, conversion, identity theft, breach of fiduciary duty, accounting malpractice, and unjust enrichment. The case concerns unemployment insurance benefits that Torky was eligible to receive from the State of New York in June 2020. According to the complaint, Torky was scheduled to receive eight payments totaling $3,128. He alleges that the defendants manipulated his application to redirect these funds into a bank account controlled by Salama without his knowledge or consent. The complaint states, “The Accounting Defendants intended to deceive the Labor Department into falsely believing that the TD Bank account number of Defendant Abdelrafea Salama was Plaintiff’s TD Bank account number.”
Torky claims that after discovering the misdirection of funds, he demanded repayment. Instead of complying, the defendants allegedly presented him with a document titled “Cover-Up Letter,” which he asserts was designed to provide a false narrative and absolve them of responsibility. Torky refused to sign the letter and reports that his funds have not been returned despite repeated requests.
The complaint outlines several causes of action, including fraud for misrepresenting information on Torky’s unemployment application; conversion for unlawful possession of the funds; identity theft under N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 380-s; breach of fiduciary duty; negligence in the form of accounting malpractice; and unjust enrichment.
Torky is seeking monetary damages to be determined by a jury, along with punitive damages, legal costs, attorneys’ fees, and any additional relief the court finds appropriate.
The plaintiff is represented by attorney Karl J. Ashanti of Musa-Obregon Law P.C. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under case number 1:25-cv-03369.