Timothy Griffin, Charged With Stealing Over $2 Million From Staten Island Cemetery To Hide Theft Of Client Money, Continued To Steal From Legal Clients While Out On Bail

Griffin Sentenced to Up To 13 Years In Prison and Will Pay $2.5 Million in Judgments And Restitution

Schneiderman: My Office Has Zero Tolerance For Anyone Who Abuses The Public Trust

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the sentencing of Bronxville real estate attorney Timothy Griffin, former acting president of United Hebrew Cemetery, on the charge of Grand Larceny in the First Degree. In February 2015, Griffin pleaded guilty in Richmond County Supreme Court to stealing over $2 million from the not-for-profit, in exchange for a promised sentence of 3 to 9 years in prison. However, an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General’s Office revealed that, after his arrest, Griffin continued to steal client monies, diverting over $175,000 from a client escrow account. In light of his continuing crimes, Griffin was sentenced today to 4 1/3 to 13 years in prison.

“This defendant stole from the clients of his law practice, and then stole millions from a charity in an attempt to disguise that theft,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Even after being charged, he continued to abuse the trust of his clients by stealing additional client funds. This sentence sends a strong message that my office has zero tolerance for anyone who abuses the public trust – especially repeat offenders.”

In February 2014, Griffin was arrested and charged by the Attorney General’s Office with Grand Larceny for stealing $2 million from United Hebrew Cemetery in Staten Island. In late 2012, Griffin was asked to serve as Acting President of the Cemetery after the previous president and his wife were found guilty of embezzlement as the result of a prior investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s office. In his capacity as Acting President, Griffin made six unauthorized wire transfers from the Cemetery’s account to his own attorney escrow account, totaling $1.9 million.

Griffin stole from United Hebrew Cemetery to cover up his theft of more than $1 million from his legal clients between April 2009 and February 2014. As a real estate attorney, Griffin’s clients gave him money to be held in escrow for pending transactions. Instead of keeping the money in escrow, as required by law, Griffin transferred it to his personal bank account and then used it to fund his lavish lifestyle, including membership at Westchester’s Waccabuc Country Club, a BMW, a Lexus, expensive jewelry and other personal expenses. In September 2014, Griffin was separately charged by the Attorney General in New Rochelle City Court with multiple counts of felony Grand Larceny for the thefts from his clients.

On the Staten Island charges, the Attorney General’s Office requested bail in the amount of $1.5 million bond or $750,ooo cash, and bail was set at $750,000 bond or $250,000 cash. Griffin posted bail and remained at liberty until March 2015, when he surrendered himself in to federal custody to begin serving a six-month sentence on federal tax fraud charges in Connecticut.

In February 2015, Griffin pleaded guilty to the charges in Richmond County in exchange for a promised sentence of 3 to 9 years in prison, to run concurrent to his federal sentence. However, a subsequent investigation by the Attorney General’s Office revealed that, after being charged in both Richmond and Westchester Counties, Griffin continued to steal client monies by diverting over $175,000 from a client escrow account between March 2014 and March 2015. On April 22, 2015, Griffin was re-arrested by the Attorney General’s Office on additional charges of Grand Larceny and arraigned in New Rochelle City Court in Westchester County.

In light of his ongoing crimes, Griffin was sentenced today before the Honorable Stephen Rooney in Richmond County Supreme Court to 4 1/3 to 13 years, to run consecutive to his 6-month federal sentence, and also signed a confession of judgment in favor of United Hebrew Cemetery in the amount of $1,771,488.

Pursuant to his plea agreement, Griffin will also be sentenced on the Westchester County cases to 4 1/3 to 13 years in prison, to run concurrent to his Richmond County sentence, and restitution and judgments to clients totaling over $850,000. Griffin’s next appearance in Westchester Supreme Court will be on May 8th.

The Attorney General's Office thanks the New York State Department of State, Division of Cemeteries, for their valuable assistance in this case.

The case is being prosecuted by Gary T. Fishman, Chief of the Criminal Enforcement and Financial Crimes Bureau, and Assistant Attorney General Lee Bergstein, with the assistance of Supervising Legal Analyst Paul Strocko. The Attorney General's Criminal Justice Division is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Kelly Donovan.

The investigation was handled by Investigators Sixto Santiago, Ryan Fannon and Supervising Investigator Luis Carter of the Investigation Division. Also assisting in the investigation were Supervising Auditor Edward J. Keegan and Associate Auditor Matthew Croghan. The Investigations Division is led by Chief Dominick Zarrella.