East Hampton Attorney Allegedly Stole Tens Of Thousands: DA

EAST HAMPTON, NY — An East Hampton attorney whose license to practice law was suspended last year pleaded not guilty Wednesday to grand larceny and other charges at his arraignment in town justice court, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

Kyle T. Lynch allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars in 2014 and 2015 from several victims by unlawfully diverting money to the business account of his law firm, Bainton Lynch LLP, to pay both business and personal expenses, Spota said.

Lynch, 42, was charged with three counts of second degree grand larceny, one count of third degree grand larceny, two counts of first degree identity theft, and one count of unlawful possession of personal identification information, Spota said.

Among Lynch’s victims are the estate of Helen Chalmers, where the defendant, serving as the estate’s attorney, is alleged to have unlawfully diverted in excess of $500,000 from the estate to his firm’s business account — and Carl Irace, an attorney and former associate at Bainton Lynch whose identity was allegedly unlawfully used to secure a line of credit to divert more than $50,000 to his business account, Spota said.

“These alleged criminal acts are serious and display a pattern of disregard for the law, compounded by the defendant’s violating his oath as an attorney,” Spota said.

Bail for Lynch was set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond, Spota said.