Disbarred Attorney Gets 48 Months For Looting $3.9M Of Client Cash From Trust Account

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports:

• A federal judge sentenced a former Fort Lauderdale attorney accused of ripping off clients to 48 months in prison and ordered him to pay $3.9 million in restitution. Joseph Sindaco, 63, accepted a plea deal in December in which he pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge.

• The mail fraud charge against Sindaco arose from his handling of the estate of Werner Clauss, an 82-year-old who died at a Lauderdale Lakes nursing home in 2008. Sindaco liquidated Clauss' investment account and transferred the money to his law firm's trust account, according to federal court records.

• Sindaco, who practiced law in South Florida for three decades, also stole from three other clients' trust funds and used the money to pay personal expenses. He had specialized in estate and trust cases and real estate closings. Sindaco was disbarred last year.(1)

Source: Former Fort Lauderdale attorney who stole from clients sentenced to prison (Broward Lawyer Sentenced For Stealing Trust Funds).

(1) From the U.S. Attorney press release: Broward Lawyer Sentenced For Stealing Trust Funds:

• As an attorney, he handled real estate closings for clients, mortgage lenders, and the administration of estates in state court. During that time, Sindaco misappropriated more than $3,879,896 of his clients funds. Sindaco was permanently disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court on August 26, 2010.

If they haven't already, the victims in this story may be able to turn to the The Florida Bar's Clients' Security Fund (which was created to help reimburse clients for money they may have lost because of misappropriation or embezzle­ment by their attorneys) to recover some, if not all, of the swindled money.

For similar "attorney ripoff reimbursement funds" that cover the financial mess created by the dishonest conduct of lawyers licensed in other states and Canada, see:

• Directory Of Lawyers' Funds For Client Protection (now includes Canadian client protection funds; courtesy of the American Bar Association);
• Check the USA Client Protection Funds Map;
• Check the Canada Client Protection Funds Map.

Maps available courtesy of The National Client Protection Organization, Inc.