New York Theft and Larceny Lawyers Blog

Published on: March 12, 2013

NYC Housing Development Fund Corporation Property Manager Indicted for Second Degree Grand Larceny: $250,000 Theft Carries Potential of up to Fifteen Years in Prison

Calling it a theme may be too strong, but Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. is plugging away on his mission to snag, a/k/a, arrest, white collar defendants who commit Grand Larceny and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property felonies in New York City. One look at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office website will reveal a laundry list of defendants who have either been indicted for or convicted of a theft or fraud crime. In fact, the website even republishes articles by local newspapers on many of the same cases addressed in these various press releases. It need not take a legal scholar to grasp that C. Vance and Company runs one District Attorney’s Office that is serious and aggressive about prosecuting more than Gotham’s street crime.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, the newest “victim,” of law enforcement’s watchful eye is Rickey Smith for stealing more than $250,000 from the low-income Housing Development Fund Corporation. No small number, if true, the potential sentence for Grand Larceny in the Second Degree is as much as five to fifteen years in prison. Even though a conviction for New York Penal Law 155.40 does not require imprisonment for a first time offender, there should be little doubt that prosecutors will seek some amount of jail or prison. In addition to Second Degree Grand Larceny, a Grand Jury also indicted Smith for three counts of First Degree Falsifying Business Records. A lesser felony, New York Penal Law 175.10 is punishable by as much as one and one third to four years in state prison.

Published on: February 20, 2013

NYC DA Vance: Salvador Dali Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio “Thief” Indicted for Grand Larceny by Manhattan Grand Jury

By Jeremy Saland

One need not perpetrate an Embezzlement or an Extortion to be arrested or charged with a New York Grand Larceny crime. Heck, outright scheming by forging checks is so “yesterday.” If you want to be on the forefront of Grand Larceny offenses, you have to concoct a solid heist. Although he did not get away with it, according to Cyrus Vance’s Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Phivos Istavrioglou was indicted by a New York Grand Jury for his alleged theft of Salvador Dali’s 1949 watercolor, “Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio.” While the $150,000 price tag is certainly lost on me (I assume an expert testified in the Grand Jury that the painting is worth more than a 1978 Bob Ross “Happy Little Trees”), Istavrioglou is facing serious crimes and potentially serious time.

According to reports, Istavrioglou strolled into an Upper East Side art gallery, opened up a shopping bag, removed “Cartel de Don Juan Tenorio” from the wall and dropped it right inside. Despite surveillance cameras set up around the gallery, Istavrioglou strolled right out. There can be little doubt that the gallery has some explaining to do in their complete lapse of security when such valuable and historic pieces of artwork are left vulnerable, but maintaing compromised security is not a crime. Stealing, however, is.

Published on: February 5, 2013

Queens Integrated Medical Care & 9 Others Arrested & Indicted in Multiple New York Insurance Fraud Schemes

By Jeremy Saland

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown is the Energizer Bunny of fraud scheme prosecutors. Running on batteries that never die, DA Brown just announced the arrests and indictments of Hazel Abrams, Aaron Dawkins, Antoinette Duncan, Tamara Easy, Wilburt Gordon, Albert Kopolovich, Raymond Mattison, Rolph Nozine and Jason Wade for their alleged involvement in a Queens Village no-fault insurance fraud scheme. In addition to the felony arrests of these men and women, prosecutors also indicted Queens Integrated Medical Care (previously Arco Medical, P.C). More specifically, these defendant’s now face DA Brown’s wrath for numerous charges including Third Degree Grand Larceny (New York Penal Law 155.35), Third Degree Insurance Fraud (New York Penal Law 176.20) and First Degree Falsifying Business Records (New York Penal Law 175.10). Make no mistake. Having defended individuals for large scale fraud and larceny schemes in Queens, I know DA Brown means business. Even assuming these men and woman have no criminal record, each faces up to two and one third to seven years in prison.

According to the press release, the “fraud factory” at Queens Integrated Medical Care bilked insurance companies out of $150,000. Certainly not a large number in terms of other arrests and indictments handled by that office, the amount of the alleged theft is still significant. Although any theft in excess of $50,000, but no more than $1,000,000 is a “C” felony of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (punishable by as much as fifteen years in prison), the fraud scheme alleged here actually consists of seven separate indictments. Therefore, the total value of the alleged insurance fraud is not aggregated to increase the degree of the offense.

Published on: January 27, 2013

Top Criminal Case Results: Client Investigated & Accused of $180,000 Second Degree Criminal Tax Fraud & Grand Larceny Gets Misdemeanor without Jail or Probation

By Jeremy Saland

What can easily be described as one of the best results one could achieve in a case involving allegations of New York Criminal Tax Fraud and Grand Larceny, the New York criminal defense lawyers and Grand Larceny defense attorneys at Saland Law PC secured a misdemeanor plea without probation or incarceration for a client accused of New York tax crimes in excess of $180,000. Initially, prosecutors sought our client’s surrender, arrest and potential indictment for crimes including Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, New York Penal Law 155.40 and Criminal Tax Fraud in the Second Degree, New York Tax Law 1805. If convicted of these crimes, our client faced as much as five to fifteen years in state prison on each count. Simply, it was alleged our client withheld these tax dollars and wrongfully filed returns.

Unfortunately, upon being advised of the investigation, the Assistant District Attorney spearheading the criminal case initially sought a felony plea. Saland Law PC argued that while sales tax monies may in fact be owed, the dollar amount suggested by prosecutors was incorrect. Regardless of the amount, our client did not have the intent to steal. Obviously, the defense pursued on our client’s behalf was very fact specific, but was not without its pitfalls, for example, one commits a Tax Fraud Act, the basis of any Criminal Tax Fraud crime, if one fails to file a return. In that regard, there were certain difficulties in a complete defense to the allegations. Despite these concerns, however, one of our criminal lawyers successfully argued that not only should the crime be prosecuted as a misdemeanor New York Criminal Tax Fraud 1802, but that the dollar amount was more than $40,000 less than the $180,000 claimed by the District Attorney’s Office.

Published on: January 24, 2013

Must a Victim be Aware of Your Theft: NY PL 155.30(5) & Grand Larceny from the Person

By Jeremy Saland

While most people think Grand Larceny is always a White Collar crime, the laws of New York State do not always reflect that misconception. Yes, while New York White Collar criminal lawyers and Grand Larceny defense attorneys who represent clients in these offenses routinely do so in the context of an Embezzlement or Criminal Tax Fraud, a Grand Larceny arrest need not be White Collar. One Grand Larceny crime that stands out from the White Collar pack, is Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree pursuant to New York Penal Law 155.30(5). This specific subsection does not address the value of a theft or the nature of the property stolen, but codifies the felony of taking property from another’s person. Simply, if you take property from the person of another (the watch from their wrist, wallet in their pocket, cash in their hand or even bag over their shoulder), you are guilty of a crime that caries a sentence of up to four years in prison. Although it wouldn’t be a completely fair description as force is not an element of this crime, NY PL 155.30(5) can be described as Robbery “light.”

What is interesting about this particular subsection of Grand Larceny is how it not only is completely different than other sub crimes of PL 155.30, but the ease by which it is prosecuted. Did you get into a fight with your neighbor and take his mobile phone and run off or are you a pickpocket that New Yorkers are warned about during their daily commute in Gotham’s subterranean transit system? Arguably the first hypothetical doesn’t seem overly devious in comparison to the second. In the eyes of the law, however, there is no distinction.

Published on: January 15, 2013

NY DA: Fried Frank LLP Clerk Pilages Plethora of Toner to Support Lifestyle

By Jeremy Saland

Some people wait to reorder toner and ink when their printer spews out documents with faint vertical stripes. Others jump to purchase more when their computer screen flashes the low ink warning. Rumor has it that Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. could care less when his staff speed dials Staples to replace ink (well, with budget cuts throughout NYC he probably prefers waiting until the former and not the latter). Its not so much the timing of when one orders copy machine or printer toner that gets DA Vance’s goat, but whether or not the person is authorized to do so and does so in a manner that is consistent with his or her employment. Setting the tone for future work place malfeasance, DA Vance announced the indictment of Adrian Rodriguez, a former Fried Frank LLP employee, for allegedly purchasing north of $375,000 worth of ink and toner that he then sold at a fraction of the cost to line his own pockets.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office worked with Fried Frank LLP to catch the duplication department desperado by setting up a sting operation whereby undercover investigators hid inside refrigerator sized boxes of copy machine toner and ink delivered to the unsuspecting toner thief (small pencil sized holes were poked throughout to enable viewing and oxygen flow). When Rodriguez attempted to sell the ill gotten gains the following day, investigators immediately jumped out and exclaimed, “gotcha!” Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez voluntarily supplied prosecutors with a written confession on 48 blue and pink Post-its.

Published on: January 14, 2013

Lawyer Arrested for Felony Shoplifting Can Avoid Criminal Record: Grand Larceny Arrest Repleaded to Allow Non-Criminal Violation

By Jeremy Saland

Arrests for shoplifting in New York City are horrendous, but when that arrest is for shoplifting property valued more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), the accusation can become a game changer in terms of your future both inside and outside the courtroom. As noted and addressed in numerous blog entries, any New York arrest that involves a theft or larceny greater than $1,000 is a felony. In practical terms, this means that should you be convicted, you can lose not just your freedom to incarceration, but you can also lose your professional license to practice in your given field. Unfortunately for a client of Saland Law PC, this is the exact scenario our client faced after being charged with an “E” felony shoplift for allegedly stealing between $1,000 and $3,000 worth of clothing from a department store.

Not the first professional or graduate school educated client represented by the New York criminal defense attorneys at Saland Law PC for felony shoplifting and Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (New York Penal Law 155.30), our criminal lawyers knew they had their work cut out. For professionals such as this particular client, it is not just that a felony would be an unacceptable resolution, a misdemeanor plea to Petit Larceny (New York Penal Law 155.25) or Fifth Degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property (New York Penal Law 165.40) would be only nominally better. Although it took significant amount of time preparing “papers” as to why our client deserved the benefit of the doubt and explaining the incident beyond the four corners of the felony complaint, eventually the District Attorney’s Office agreed to give our client a “re-pleader.” In the world of criminal law, such a disposition provides an accused a means to avoid a criminal record if he or she follows certain criteria established in advance of a plea. Although not necessarily part of this particular deal, such conditions may include counseling, community service or a fine. After an agreed upon time frame, the accused is able to withdraw his or her plea and obtain a violation or even an ACD.

Published on: January 7, 2013

What? The New York City Police Arrested Me for Shoplifting and I never Left the Store??! How can that be?!

By Jeremy Saland

It is fairly common for store security at Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Century 21 or any other New York City department store in Manhattan, Brooklyn or Queens, to “jump the gun” when apprehending or detaining an individual for shoplifting. Often time, an arrested shoplifter in New York is accused of placing items in his or her bag or tote as the basis of a shoplifting arrest despite there being no criminal intent on the part of the accused. While prosecutors may charge these people with the “shoplifting crimes” of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree (NY PL 165.40) or Petit Larceny (NY PL 155.25), a little bit of investigation on the front end may have clearly established an arrest was unwarranted. Sadly, although any defendant has a right to a criminal attorney or, in this case, a New York City shoplifting lawyer, by the time an accused speaks to their counsel they have already been printed and processed with a shoplifting Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT). Unfortunately, the department store or the police have little concern at this juncture that a false allegation can ruin your professional career or jeopardize your immigration status.

As a preliminary matter, most NYC department stores do not give their patrons carts or reusable totes to place their potential purchases while shopping. Therefore, when one’s hands are full, one has little choice but to put the items in a bag that one brought to the store whether it be a pocketbook, canvas bag or even the bottom of a stroller. Also, because most department stores in New York are on multiple floors, its is far from unreasonable that a patron would go up and down elevators, escalators or stairs while perusing potential purchases. In fact, during any outing, numerous cash registers will be passed as a shopper continues to decide what to purchase or try on. Sadly, this innocent behavior can not just lead to an arrest by a rude or bullying store security officer, but the police will arrest you without investigating the validity of the store employee’s assertion. It will be up to you and your criminal defense lawyer to recreate what truly happened.

Published on: December 25, 2012

Fraudulent Accosting: Must You Initiate Contact with a Complainant for an NY PL 165.30 Arrest to be Valid

By Jeremy Saland

Not necessarily the most serious of all theft and larceny related offenses in New York, Fraudulent Accosting is still a crime that not only can land you behind bars for up to one year, but a conviction for New York Penal Law 165.30 is permanent. In other words, it ain’t ever goin’ away! All humor aside, one who is accused of any crime must recognize the long term and collateral consequences of an arrest or conviction. Because of this, one must also pursue any legal defense available. In People v. Juan Bannister, 2012CN005065, NYLJ 1202582020231, at *1 (Crim. NY, Decided December 10, 2012), the defendant did just that when he actively exercised his rights with his criminal defense attorney to defend himself.

The complaint or information against Bannister alleged that he had committed the crime of NY PL 165.30. In legal terms it was alleged that he accosted a person in a public place with the intent to defraud or swindle that person by means of a trick or confidence game.

Published on: December 22, 2012

Overzealous & Eager Store Security: When Your Innocent Acts Lead to a Wrongful Shoplifting Arrest in NY

By Jeremy Saland

Shoplifting arrests throughout New York City are relatively common events. Sadly, whether it is at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan, Century 21 in Queens or any other department store in Brooklyn, often time an overzealous or moderately experienced store security officer is all to eager to assume you were shoplifting. Even worse, they are ready to bully you into signing paperwork they will shove in your face without explanation. Maybe it is because there are bonuses paid by employers or built in incentives, but whatever the reason there have been countless people accused of and arrested for shoplifting in New York who committed no crime at all. Not only have I witnessed this as a New York criminal defense attorney who routinely represents clients in shoplifting arrests, but as a Manhattan Assistant District Attorney where I prosecuted shoplifters for both felony and misdemeanor offenses.

A case that drives this point home is People v. Lioudmila Haimovici. In Haimovici, it was alleged that the defendant stole from a Macy’s Department Store. More specifically, Haimovici was charged with and arrested for violating New York Penal Law 155.25, Petit Larceny. An A misdemeanor, NY PL 155.25 is a serious crime that carries a sentence of as much as one year in a county jail (hello, Rikers!). It was alleged that the defendant brought unpaid store merchandise into a restroom where he was then stopped immediately after exiting a stall. After a bench trial (also called a “judge trial”), the court found the defendant guilty of Attempted Petit Larceny, New York Penal Law 110/155.25.