Disbarred Former LI Attorney Indicted 2nd Time For Stealing From Clients: Prosecutors

STONY BROOK, NY — A former Long Island attorney has been indicted a second time in connection with bilking nearly $400,000 from a third client, Suffolk prosecutors said Friday.

Douglas Valente, 56, of Boca Raton, Florida, was charged with an additional count of grand larceny just two months after he was indicted on a pair of grand larceny counts for stealing over $425,000 from two other clients through his old law firm in Stony Brook, according to prosecutors.

District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Valente is now alleged to have stolen "close to a million dollars from three of his clients over a two-and-a-half-year period."

"Attorneys have a duty to act in the best interests of their clients," he said. "Not only did this defendant allegedly violate that duty, he also stole from them, and this will not be tolerated.”

Between May 14, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022, Valente, the former principal attorney at the Valente Law Group, stole nearly $400,000 from a client who had sold a home due to a pending divorce proceeding, according to prosecutors.

Valente represented the client in the sale of the home, and he was supposed to hold on to the sale proceeds in his escrow account for payment after the divorce was finalized, prosecutors said, adding, that Valente used the funds for business and personal expenses.

In the first indictment, Valente was accused of stealing over $181,000 from a 78-year-old client while representing her in the sale of her home and the proceeds of the sale were put into Valente’s escrow account between April 14, 2020, and May 31, 2020.

Valente was supposed to send half of the proceeds to his client and the other half to her matrimonial attorney to be held in escrow until her divorce was finalized, prosecutors said, adding that he did not send the remaining half of the proceeds to the woman's matrimonial attorney.

When his client’s divorce was finalized, she could not obtain the remaining proceeds from the sale of her home, prosecutors said.

Between Sept. 28, 2020, to Oct. 13, 2020, Valente stole $248,027.84 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender he represented as an attorney and settlement agent in a refinancing transaction, according to prosecutors.

Guaranteed Rate Inc. wired money to Valente’s escrow account to be dispersed in the transaction, prosecutors said, adding that Valente was supposed to send a portion of the proceeds of the refinanced mortgage to the prior mortgage company to pay off the existing mortgage, but he failed to do so, instead using the funds belonging to both clients on his own personal and business expenses.

Guaranteed Rate Inc. then had to pay off the existing mortgage of $248,027.84, according to prosecutors.

The state's Grievance Committee for the 10th Judicial District disbarred Valente in May, making him ineligible to practice law in New York.

He surrendered to the DA’s office Friday morning and was released on his own recognizance after his arraignment. He had previously surrendered his passport at his arraignment on the first indictment.

Valente's attorney, John Carman of Garden City, could not be immediately reached for comment.

He is due back in court on March 3.

Anyone believing they have been victimized by Valente, please call the DA’s office at (631) 853-5602.