DA: Boston Man Posed as Lawyer, Stole from Clients

A Boston man was arraigned Tuesday on for allegedly posing as an attorney in order to defraud clients who turned to him for legal assistance, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

David Koraca, 48, was arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on two dockets, each charging larceny by scheme over $250 and unauthorized practice of law.

Judge Thomas Horgan imposed $5,000 on each docket for a total of $10,000 bail, as well as orders that Koraca wear a GPS monitor and abide by a curfew in the event he is released on bail.

Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Franklin told the court that Koraca represented himself as an attorney using the name “David Corazza” – one of his eight known aliases — though he was not authorized to practice law in any state.

In July, an acquaintance accepted Koraca’s offer of legal help with financial issues she was experiencing. The victim met with Koraca at his rented office at One International Place, where Koraca made copies of her credit cards and took down her personal information, including Social Security number, prosecutors said.

The victim later discovered $1,004.22 in unauthorized charges on one of her credit cards. When she confronted Koraca, he allegedly told the victim that the charges were for his services. He later allegedly made statements to the victim that he would reimburse the credit card charges, but he failed to do so, according to investigators.

In September, a second acquaintance hired to Koraca to represent her in divorce proceedings. She paid Koraca a total of $6,960 for legal services and provided personal and credit card information, prosecutors said.

The woman later discovered unauthorized charges on her credit cards and accounts totaling more than $21,000. Among those charges were payments made to the company from which Koraca rented his One International Place office, prosecutors said.

Boston police arrested Koraca at his office yesterday. He was found with a Massachusetts Bar Association card bearing the name David Corazza and an ID number. The MBA has no record of a David Koraca or a David Corazza authorized to practice law, prosecutors said.

Koraca will return to court Dec. 14.