Michael Tulchiner allegedly stole $413,237 designated to be used for a loan payoff in connection with a property sale, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
DA Ray Tierney announced on Friday, August 8th, that the Bellmore resident and principal attorney of his own Melville-based law office was arrested and arraigned for Grand Larceny in the Second Degree.
Suffolk’s top prosecutor considers the defendant’s alleged crime “a gross violation of the trust that the victim placed in him as an attorney and a fiduciary.”
“The attorney-client relationship is an essential element of our society,” Tierney added, “and my office will not tolerate professionals using their state licenses as a license to steal.”
The funds were removed from Tulchiner’s mortgage disbursement account between August and December of 2022, an investigation concluded.
He was originally hired to represent his client at the closing of a real estate transaction. The client was required to pay off a prior loan on the property that was being sold. Tulchiner was provided with a refinance loan on his client’s behalf—with a portion intended solely for the loan payoff.
Tulchiner ordered a bank check to pay the exact large six-figure sum
to a mortgage company for his client on August 26, 2022; rather than delivering that check, he redposited the money back into his account three days later.
Analysis of his bank account confirms Tulchiner spent that money on expenses related to his firm, and unrelated to the authorized transaction.
Tulchiner—who pleaded not guilty—now faces 5 to 15 years in prison. He is due back in court on September 2nd.