Massapequa Attorney Pleads Guilty To Stealing From Clients

MASSAPEQUA, NY — A real estate attorney from North Massapequa pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing more than $350,000 from his clients.

Peter Rand, 57, pleaded guilty to second- and third-degree grand larceny. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 9. As part of his plea agreement, he has to pay back $243,236.39 to his victims. If he doesn't he will face two to six years in prison.

“This is a case that began with just one identified victim, but thanks to the diligence of the prosecutors and investigators on this case with assistance from the media in shedding light on his criminal activity, we were able to pull that thread and unravel a larger scheme involving multiple clients,” Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said. “These victims entrusted the defendant with large sums of money as their real estate attorney, but he violated their trust, his professional duties, and the law. This is an excellent result that ensures that he is held accountable for stealing from his clients for his own personal gain.”

According to Sini, Rand was named a trustee of an irrevocable trust created by one of his clients, a man in his 80s. The victim put real estate in the trust, which was then sold by Rand. Between April 1, 2014 and Feb. 3, 2015, Rand stole more than $300,000 from the trust, either by writing checks to himself from the trust or by depositing some of the proceeds from real estate sales into his own accounts.

After stealing the funds, Sini said that Rand repaid about $111,000 to the trust.

Once his arrest was made public in January 2020, more clients came forward and reported being victimized by Rand. A subsequent investigation found that Rand stole $51,536.39 from four more victims between Aug. 22, 2016 and Aug. 5, 2019.

Sini said that Rand spent the money on personal and business expenses, including shopping, dining and buying a new car.