Disbarred Attorney Practiced Illegally, Stole From Toms River Client, Prosecutor Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A disbarred attorney and former assistant prosecutor is accused of stealing from a Toms River resident who paid the man to represent him in a legal matter, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

David T. Schlendorf, 54, who now lives in Holladay, Utah, but previously lived in Toms River, has been charged with theft by deception and unauthorized practice of law, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Schlendorf was arrested Monday, the prosecutor's office said.

Investigators learned that in March, a Toms River resident hired Schlendorf to represent him in a legal matter, and the man paid Schlendorf about $10,000 for his services, the prosecutor's office said. Investigators also learned Schlendorf misrepresented himself as a licensed attorney, in spite of him being disbarred in New Jersey in December 2022, prosecutors said.

Schlendorf, who also was disbarred in New York in 2024, admitted to the "knowing misappropriation of client funds" and acknowledged the allegation was true, according to the court record on the New York proceeding.

Schlendorf was an assistant prosecutor in the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office from 2000 to 2003 and an assistant prosecutor in the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office from 1997 to 1999, according to his LinkedIn account.

After his arrest he was taken to the Ocean County Jail but later released after a detention hearing, according to jail records.

The prosecutor's office said anyone else who paid Schlendorf for legal services after December 2022 should call Detective Jason Putkowski of the Toms River Police Department at 732-349-0150, ext. 1349, or Sgt. Lindsay Llauget of the prosecutor’s office at 732-929-2027, ext. 3462.