Two Queens, New York, Attorneys, Arelia Taveras and Mark Jacobs, Face Jail Time for Stealing from Clients
Both attorneys are now disbarred and are facing criminal charges.
They have been identified as Arelia Taveras, 46 who now lives in Bloomington, Minnesota and Mark Jacobs, 58, of Glen Head, New York.
In the case of Taveras, she is accused of stealing a total of $99,142 from four different clients. She faces 3 counts of third-degree grand larceny as well as second-degree forgery, a charge of submitting a false document for filing in the first degree and last but not least scheming to defraud.
The criminal complaint against Taveras alleges that she accepted$2,500 from a real estate buyer deposit and then took $22,500 more for a down payment on a co op in the Bayside section of Queens that Traveras was selling. The complaint goes on to allege that when the client's application was turned down by the board of the co op, she asked for her deposit money to be returned, but Taveras refused. The complaint goes on to say that after the client made many requests for the return of her money, Taveras' lawyer contacted her and said that the money would not be repaid and that Taveras was in a rehab center in Colorado
It also alleges that Traveras stole from three other clients. In one of the cases, the client retained Traveras' services in a real estate deal and did not release $10,000 that she was holding in escrow for the client.
With the next client, the complaint alleges that Traveras kept $30,000 of the clients money in another real estate transaction.
And with the last client, it is alleged that she stole $34,142 from him in connection with a divorce case.
It is also alleged that Taveras made a videotaped statement in regards to one of the allegations and in that statement she said she took the money because she had a gambling problem and she was very remorseful
She also allegedly told the detectives that she was a friend of the President of the Dominican Republic and she could go there and they would never find her. And she allegedly told them that she could not believe that they were arresting her, the thefts were no big deal and that she intended to pay back the money. She was disbarred in June of this year. If she is convicted, she faces a maximum of 7 years in prison.
Jacobs faces a charge of second-degree grand larceny. He is accused of allegedly stealing $91,564 from one client who he represented in a divorce proceeding. The home that the client had owned with his ex wife was sold and Jacobs received money from the sale that was supposed to be held in escrow. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if he is convicted. Jacobs was disbarred a few months later and he refused to give the escrow funds to the clients new attorney.
A complaint is only a list of charges and the defendants are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: QUeens District Attorney http://www.queensda.org/
Published by Regina Sass
I have been writing, editing and doing advertising online for 10 years. I have been a gardener for more than 50 years. I am a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentNo..You don't get it. Normal people don't spend consecutive hours at a machine or table to gamble. Normal people don't
use wipes to brush their teeth so that they don't have to leave the table ADDICTS DO THAT!!
Every minute at a table for a pathological gambler is the medication of choice for them to deal with the
problem that is deep in their soul. I've been around every conceivable type of addict that there is and
there has not been 1 i've met that didn't have some deep rooted emotional problem that they have
not dealt with in a healthy manner. They choose not to go to counseling. They choose not to attend a
12 step meeting.They choose not to let their friends and family know what's going on inside of themselves.
They just keep spiraling down the vortex of their own creation. At some point they must take responsibility
for their action and their addiction. I know. My wife is a compulsive gambler and gambled our retirement,our
son's college and nearly destroyed our family
You are making a mistake here...you do not understand that the modern gambling industry and marketing of their products...tables, roulette, slots etc are NOT the normal, traditional forms of marketing...indeed the machines (slots) are not the traditional styles of machines. They are designed to actively cause addiction to anybody who regularly uses them. We are told that 'people must be responsible' but the machine is expressly intended to make that virtually impossible over time. The gambling marketing, comps and expensive advertising are planned to actively cause and to exacerbate gambling addiction. The odds of getting addicted have thus increased dramatically for people using modern gambling services. We are no longer dealing with a cock fight or game of cards behind a pub! Where normal people stood some good chance of avoiding addiction. Only degenerates got hooked then. Most people did not. Now...normal people are becoming addicted in droves (never reported apart from by help ag
That will be a BIG restitution!!!! Serves them right. Thou shalt not steal.
Good job!!