Attorney Caught Stealing $2 Million From Charity

by Gary Snyder

An attorney faces up to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $2 million from a non-profit cemetery he ran to hide thefts from his law clients.

Timothy Griffin admitted in state Supreme Court in Staten Island that he embezzled the money from the United Hebrew Cemetery. He served as acting president of the charity after the previous president and his wife were convicted of embezzling some $850,000 from the organization in 2012.

Griffin, who once represented cemeteries in Rockland and Westchester counties, was sentenced last week to six months in federal prison for tax evasion and is expected to plead guilty Feb. 19 to additional charges of stealing from his clients in Westchester County Court, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

In his guilty plea to first-degree grand larceny, Griffin admitted stealing from the Staten Island-based cemetery, Schneiderman said in a statement. 

The felony conviction carries a prison sentence of three to nine years. He also owes the cemetery $1.8 million in restitution. (source)

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