Community Corner
Ex-Cop Bilked Out Of 9/11 Victims Compensation Receives $400K
A former police lieutenant and disbarred lawyer stole $900,000 that was awarded to John Ferreyra, a former NYPD officer and 9/11 survivor.
YORKTOWN, NY — A former New York Police Department officer and 9/11 survivor who was bilked out of victim compensation funds by a disbarred attorney received some of his money from a fund that aids victims of fraud.
On Thursday, John Ferreyra, who worked for the NYPD and was assigned to lower Manhattan for several months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, received $400,000 from the New York State Lawyers Fund, which was established to aid victims of fraud committed by unscrupulous attorneys in the state.
Ferreyra eventually contracted non-Hodgkin's lymphoma as a result of exposure to Ground Zero toxins. He suffered through years of chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, a stem cell transplant and more, and was eventually awarded $1 million by the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.
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Unfortunately, $900,000 of the money was stolen by Gustavo Vila, 62, of Yorktown Heights, a disbarred attorney and ex-NYPD commanding officer.
Vila pleaded guilty in October to stealing the money and is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 5.
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In 2016, Vila had presented himself as an attorney, despite having been disbarred a year earlier, and offered to represent his friend and former NYPD colleague to file a federal Victim Compensation Fund claim.
He eventually gave Ferreyra $100,000 of the money, which was only 10 percent of what was awarded.
Vila continued lying to Ferreyra over the next three years, telling him the federal fund was in financial turmoil and had not paid any additional funds.
Eventually, friends of Ferreyra suggested he contact Michael Barasch of Barasch & McGarry, a law firm that has represented more than 20,000 9/11 survivors, including first responders.
Barasch and his firm, who represented Ferreyra pro-bono, alerted the U.S. attorney's office and the Victim Compensation Fund Special Master's office, which led to Vila's arrest in September.
The law firm then helped secure $400,000 in compensation from the New York State Lawyers Fund for Client Protection.
Ferreyra said he was humbled and grateful to finally receive some of the funds, and thanked Barasch and attorney Bruce Kaye.
"It is my hope that no other member of the 9/11 community, or anyone else, ever has to experience what my family and I went through," he said.
Barasch said he couldn't stand by after hearing Ferreyra's story of victimization.
"This was a betrayal of trust, plain and simple," he said. "John Ferreyra trusted an ex-fellow officer and he was taken advantage of and horribly mistreated."
