Long Island Attorney Stole Millions From Minor's Settlement: Feds

An attorney from Smithtown was arrested on Friday for conspiring to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, federal prosecutors said.

Vincent J. Trimarco Jr., 48, who also worked as a part-owner of the now closed Emporium, a nightclub and music venue in Patchogue, worked with a co-conspirator to steal from a minor, the co-conspirator's grandchild, between 2011 and 2017, the U.S. Attorney said.

The two stole more than $2 million from the grandchild's settlement money obtained from a wrongful death action, the U.S. Attorney said.

Using the settlement money, Trimarco and the co-conspirator bought luxury cars, including a Ferrari F430 Spider for $200,000 and a Jaguar XKR convertible for $57,000, as well as numerous pieces of property in Suffolk County, and invested approximately $800,000 in the Emporium, the U.S. Attorney said.

Despite orders from the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court in April 2012 and August 2012 to return the money, Trimarco and the co-conspirator sold the assets from the settlement funds and didn't return the proceeds to the grandchild, the U.S. Attorney said.

In addition, from October 2011 to the present, Trimarco orchestrated a scheme to defraud both the co-conspirator and the minor of these funds by obtaining ownership interest in the vehicles, property and nightclub purchased with the settlement funds, police said.

“As alleged, by defrauding a co-conspirator’s grandchild of an inheritance from a wrongful death suit, the defendant violated the law as well as the trust placed in him as an attorney,” Acting United States Attorney Bridget Rohde said. “Protecting the public from those who, for personal gain, would abuse that trust and betray the laws they have sworn to uphold is a priority of this office.”

If convicted, Trimarco faces up to 20 years in prison for each mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering charge, 10 years for each money laundering unlawful monetary transactions charge, and five years for each conspiracy charge.

“When you peel back the layers of this alleged crime, it all boils down to this: Trimarco, a licensed attorney, is believed to have defrauded a minor of millions of dollars awarded in a wrongful death settlement,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney, police said. “As if that wasn’t bad enough, he and a co-conspirator, whom he also defrauded, allegedly used this money to invest in a nightclub and purchase big-ticket items and pieces of property. When the scam was first uncovered, a court order was issued mandating they return the funds to their rightful owner, which they failed to do. Today, this high-speed lifestyle had been brought to an abrupt halt as Trimarco faces the consequences of his alleged actions.”

Trimarco's attorney told Newsday, “When the facts are borne out the government will find that my client has done no wrongdoing."

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