Syosset Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Stealing $500K From Dead Man's Estate: DA

A lawyer from Syosset is expected to go to jail for approximately three months after she pleaded guilty to stealing more than $500,000 from a dead man’s estate, the Queens County District Attorney announced Wednesday.

Debra Ann Purcell-Regis, 56, pleaded guilty to second degree grand larceny on Wednesday and will reportedly be sentenced to 90 days in jail on April 26 as part of her plea agreement for paying full restitution.

According to the DA, Purcell-Regis was retained to oversee the Queens estate of a deceased man, Joseph Filiano, by his half brother, Thomas Massaro. An analysis of Filiano’s financial records revealed that Purcell-Regis took more than $500,000 from his bank accounts and re-deposited the funds into two separate funds in his name, the DA says.

From August 2008 to July 2013, Purcell-Regis allegedly made numerous cash withdrawals from these accounts and used approximately $495,000 of the deceased man’s money for personal gain, including endorsing payments to other people and making tuition payments to a private Quaker school on Long Island.

Purcell-Regis was suspended from practicing law on Feb. 4, 2015. She began returning the funds stolen from the Filiano estate on January 2015, with a $200,000 payment, and made full restitution plus interest in November, the DA says.

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said, “The defendant has pleaded guilty to having breached her fiduciary duties and violated to trust of the victim- the very person who retained her to help the estate of his deceased loved one. But instead of working on behalf of her client, the defendant stole from the estate to enrich herself. Under the terms of the defendant’s plea agreement, she has made full restitution, making the heirs of the estate whole again. In April, the defendant will be sentenced to jail time for her actions.”