Disbarred Attorney Accused of Stealing Over $1M from Clients Pleads Not Guilty: DA

A former Baldwin attorney accused of stealing over $1 million from clients from former legal clients who were elderly or disabled in April, pleaded guilty in two separate cases, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced on Monday.

Janice Jessup, 68, pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Jerald Carter to one count of first degree grand larceny for stealing more than $1.1 million from a mentally and physically disabled woman who she represented in an eminent domain action, according to the DA.

She also pleaded guilty to second degree grand larceny for stealing more than $85,000 from an 85-year old former client from Roosevelt who she helped obtain a reverse mortgage on her property, the DA said.

In the first case, Carter committed to sentencing to a maximum of three to nine years in prison and must pay back a total of $1,112.340.07.

In the second case, he committed to sentencing Jessup to one to three years – to run concurrently – and to pay back a total of $84,068.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16.

“The defendant stole enormous sums of money from elderly and disabled clients to support her lifestyle, as well as to benefit her family, including using some of the ill-gotten gains to help her then husband’s limousine company, and to partially pay for a vintage Corvette,” Singas said. “Attorneys have an obligation to represent the best interests of their clients and that is especially true when dealing with senior citizens and those who are unable to make important decisions for themselves.”

In 2007, Jessup was hired by the family of a mentally and physically disabled woman to represent her in a $1.2 million eminent domain action involving property developed into the Yes We Can Community Center in Westbury, the DA said.

She received the funds by court order as the attorney for her client in September 2008, and stole the funds around March 2010 by spending the money on personal, business and other expenses that included direct payments to herself and members of her family, as well as payments to other law clients of hers, the DA said.

Prosecutors became aware of the scheme in 2013 when a complaint was filed with the Nassau DA’s Office, which investigated the case.

Jessup was indicted in January 2015 for the criminal activity.

In addition, in 2008 she was hired by a then-85-year old woman who wanted to obtain a reverse mortgage on her home in Roosevelt.

Jessup obtained the reverse mortgage that year, allegedly to help raise money to pay for the elderly woman’s care in a nursing facility the woman resided in, according to the DA.

She was disbarred in August 2010 after she submitted her resignation while facing a disciplinary proceeding for charges of professional misconduct.

Despite that fact, Jessup obtained a power of attorney through signature of her former client in November 2011 which gave her the power to control the woman’s finances.

In 2012, Jessup used that power of attorney to file an application with Wells Fargo Bank in the woman’s name requesting an additional line of credit, according to the DA.

She submitted a document to the bank falsely certifying that the woman was still using the Roosevelt house as her primary residence despite the fact that the woman was living at a nursing care facility in Rockville Centre since 2008.

Shortly afterward, Jessup obtained additional reverse mortgage funding, with a line of credit of $47,467.

She then allegedly stole those funds as well as other funds owned by the woman totaling $84,000.

The stolen money was mostly used for her then husband and his business Legacy Limousines, and as partial payment for the purchase price for a 1985 Chevrolet Corvette in the name of her then husband, the DA said.

The Nassau County Guardianship Program of Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. (Selfhelp), was appointed guardian of the victim in 2013 and continued an investigation started by the Medicaid Division of the Nassau County Department of Social Services.

Selfhelp filed a complaint with the District Attorney’s Office, which opened an investigation into the matter.

Bureau Chief Marshall Trager and Assistant District Attorney Brian Heid of DA Singas’ Government and Consumer Frauds Bureau are prosecuting both cases.