STONY BROOK, NY – Douglas Valente, a 57-year-old former principal attorney of the Valente Law Group, based in Stony Brook, pleaded guilty to three counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, as announced by Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. Valente, currently residing in Florida, admitted to misappropriating over $800,000 from three clients.
The court documents reveal that between April 14, 2020, and May 31, 2020, Valente embezzled $181,201 from an elderly client. He was representing her in the sale of her home and managed the proceeds through his escrow account. While he delivered half of the amount to the client, the remainder, meant for her matrimonial attorney, was not transferred.
In a separate incident between September 28, 2020, and October 13, 2020, Valente misappropriated $248,027 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender. As their attorney and settlement agent, he failed to disburse the refinanced mortgage proceeds as required, causing financial loss to the company.
Additionally, from May 14, 2021, through September 30, 2022, Valente stole nearly $400,000 from a client involved in a divorce proceeding. He had been tasked with holding the proceeds from the sale of the client’s home in escrow, but instead used the funds for his own expenses.
Valente was disbarred on May 18, 2022, by the New York Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District, rendering him ineligible to practice law in New York State. On December 6, 2023, he pled guilty before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro to the charges, all Class C felonies.
