Police: Attorney misused settlement money awarded to clients

A Manhattan attorney is accused of stealing money from several of his clients while working in his Garden City office. According to his law firm's website, Steven Morelli specializes in cases dealing

News 12 Staff

Mar 9, 2016, 8:52 AM

Updated 3,113 days ago

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A Manhattan attorney is accused of stealing money from several of his clients while working in his Garden City office.
According to his law firm's website, Steven Morelli specializes in cases dealing with employee rights, discrimination, sexual harassment, civil rights, labor law and education cases.
Police say Morelli mishandled settlement funds that were awarded to at least four clients. According to police, Morelli kept the money for an unreasonable amount of time and used it for other purposes.
"The money would be placed into his account at the law firm. Evidence we gathered showed that once that money was deposited, Mr. Morelli almost automatically withdrew that money and spent it on personal items," says Nassau Police Detective Sgt. Richard Harasym.



Police say he paid back three of the clients, but still owes money to the fourth.