Former CFO Admits Embezzling $1.5M From Major Morristown Law Firm: AG

MORRISTOWN, NJ — The former Chief Financial Officer of a major Morristown law firm has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $1.5 million from the firm and evading his taxes, the Attorney General's Office said.

John Dunlea, 61, pleaded guilty on Thursday to an accusation charging him with two counts of second-degree theft by deception and five counts of third-degree failure to pay taxes (third-degree), before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Taylor in Morris County.

Dunlea, of Westfield, is the former CFO of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, a national law firm based in New Jersey.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said Dunlea admitted to misappropriating $1,538,221 from the law firm by paying himself unauthorized excess compensation totaling $1,182,965, between Jan. 2017 and Dec. 2022.

Additionally, Dunlea admitted he had the law firm pay credit card expenses totaling $355,256, claiming they were business expenses when they were actually personal expenses, including for international and domestic airline flights, hotels, and restaurants for himself and his family.

He further confessed to evading income tax due to the state of New Jersey, amounting to $22,658, AG Platkin said.

"(Dunlea) has admitted giving himself a staggering, unauthorized, and illegal seven-figure pay raise, and treating himself and his family, at his employer's expense, to travel, hotels, and dining out, without his employer's consent,” the AG said in a statement.

Under a plea agreement, the state will recommend Dunlea be sentenced to five years in prison, and pay restitution to both the law firm and the state Division of Taxation, said Platkin.

McElroy Deutsch has offices in Morristown, Newark, and Tinton Falls. Outside the Garden State, the firm has locations in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, and other cities in New York, Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Florida, and Colorado.

The charges are the result of an investigation by Division of Criminal Justice’s Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions, with the help of the New Jersey Division of Taxation-Office of Criminal Investigations.

Patch's Alexis Tarrazi contributed to this report.