Former LI real estate attorney sentenced to prison for theft from clients

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The former principal attorney at a Stony Brook law firm was sentenced Thursday to serve prison time for stealing more than $800,000 from three of his clients. 

Douglas Valente, who once headed the Valente Law Group and now lives in Florida, was sentenced to one and one-third to four years in prison for taking the funds from his escrow account used for clients’ real estate transactions, according to a statement from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. 

From April 14, 2020, to May 31, 2020, Valente stole $181,201 that was put into Valente’s escrow account from the sale of his elderly client’s home, according to court documents and the defendant’s admissions. 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, according to the DA’s statement. Although Valente did send half of those proceeds to his client, he failed to send the remaining half of the proceeds to her matrimonial attorney, keeping the client from obtaining the remaining  from the funds from her home sale. 

Between Sept. 28, 2020 and Oct. 13, 2020, Valente stole $248,027 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender, while he represented the mortgage lender as its attorney and settlement agent in a refinance transaction. Guaranteed Rate Inc. wired money to Valente’s escrow account to be dispersed in the transaction, but Valente failed to send a portion of the money of the refinanced mortgage to the prior mortgage company, according to the DA’s office. 

From May 14, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022, Valente stole nearly $400,000 from a client who had sold a home during a pending divorce proceeding. Valente was to hold the proceeds of the sale in his escrow account to be dispersed when the divorce was finalized, but he instead used the money for business and personal expenses, according to the statement. 

“An attorney’s duty is to protect their clients’ interests, not exploit them for personal gain,” Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in the statement. “We will not tolerate crime committed with a law degree any more than we would when committed by violence or deception. This office remains committed to vigorously prosecuting any individual who abuses their position of trust, regardless of their status or profession.” 

Besides sentencing Valente to prison time, State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro also ordered a restitution judgment of $826,525 on behalf of Guaranteed Rate Inc. and The Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, who reimbursed two of the victims. 

Valente, who was disbarred from practicing law in New York State in May 2022, was represented by Hauppauge-based attorney William Keahon. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Donna Planty of the Financial Crimes Bureau.