Queens, NY – The Queens District Attorney’s Office announced that a Long Island man has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly impersonating a lawyer and defrauding a woman of more than $15,000 in a fake immigration services scheme.
District Attorney Melinda Katz said 50-year-old Leonardo Ferretti, also known as Leonardo Valentino Ferretti DiSanttorelli, of Commack, met the victim in December 2022 and falsely claimed to be a Columbia Law School graduate and practicing attorney. Over the course of more than a year, he allegedly convinced the woman to pay him for legal services that were never provided.
Ferretti was arraigned Wednesday on charges of grand larceny in the third degree, criminal possession of stolen property, unauthorized practice of law, and immigrant assistance services fraud. Queens Criminal Court Judge Toko Serita ordered him to return to court on February 25. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.
According to the investigation, Ferretti provided the victim with a fake business card, complete with a fraudulent Columbia Law email address, and claimed to have passed the bar exam in April 2023. Between June and December of that year, the victim and her brother sent a total of $15,300 to Ferretti through Zelle. Authorities later determined that Ferretti had never been enrolled at Columbia Law School and had never filed any immigration paperwork on behalf of the victim.
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District Attorney Katz thanked the victim for coming forward and reminded residents that assistance is available regardless of immigration status. The case was investigated by the DA’s Detective Bureau with support from the office’s Frauds Bureau.