TOMS RIVER, NJ – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Point Pleasant Borough Police Chief Adam Picca announced that last Thursday, Donna Frustieri, 55, of Thunderbolt, Georgia, was charged with Theft in connection with the unlawful taking of funds from an attorney trust account of a Point Pleasant law office.
The charges resulted from an investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crime Squad and Point Pleasant Borough Police Department. The investigation revealed that Frustieri, working as a legal secretary at the law firm, had access to the financial instruments used by the firm’s attorney trust account.
The trust account held funds belonging to numerous clients of the law practice. Between May 2015 and June 2021, Frustieri unlawfully issued approximately 139 checks from the trust account, totaling over $184,000. The checks were made payable to family members and other individuals connected to Frustieri. Ultimately, the law office reimbursed all of the stolen funds to the trust account, ensuring no clients were harmed.
On Thursday, Frustieri was served with the charges via summons pending an upcoming first appearance in Ocean County Superior Court. The charges mentioned above are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.