FREEHOLD — A real estate attorney from Hazlet, who has since been disbarred, has been sentenced to 10 years for stealing $1.18 million from dozens of clients, said Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago on Tuesday.
Steven H. Salami was also ordered to make full restitution for the stolen funds, with payments to be made to the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection, which has reimbursed his clients.
Dozens of victims were identified during an investigation by the Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Unit, which continued even after Salami’s arrest in October 2019, leading to a 63-count indictment by a state grand jury in Freehold in July 2021, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Previously:Disbarred Hazlet real estate lawyer admits to defrauding 60 clients out of $1.2 million
In his capacity as an attorney, Salami accepted funds from each victim for various real-estate transactions and put the money in escrow. However, he failed to do the work for which he was paid. His inaction resulted in missed closing dates and nullified various transactions for the victims, among other issues, the statement from the Prosecutor’s Office said.
In a plea agreement, Salami admitted to second-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity in October.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence Nelsen, Director of the MCPO Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Unit. Salami was represented by Neptune-based defense attorney Steven E. Nelson.
Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.
