Lawyer Who Stole $1.8M From Clients Pleads Guilty To Theft: DA

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A disbarred lawyer who stole millions of dollars from at least 50 clients pleaded guilty to theft charges this week, prosecutors announced.

Yohan Choi, 47, admitted to stealing more than $1.8 million from his clients' personal injury lawsuit settlements between Aug. 2015 and 2020, according to a press release from Queens prosecutors. He also represented clients after getting disbarred in Nov. 2017, records show.

Choi cheated all 50 of his clients in a similar way, prosectors said, citing an examination of the Bayside resident's bank accounts.

That investigation found that Choi's office had several bank accounts where insurance companies would deposit money after reaching a settlement in personal injury cases.

After the money was deposited — in sums ranging from $1,000 to $75,000 — Choi didn't turn over the checks to his clients, the DA said.

Between 2015 and 2020 upwards of $1.8 million worth of checks were deposited into Choi's accounts, but none of that money ever made it to the lawsuit victims, prosectors said.

"As a member of the bar, this defendant took an oath to uphold the law," said District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. "Unfortunately his greed overpowered his sense of duty."

Choi, who has yet to be sentenced, could now face between one-and-a-half and four-and-a-half years in prison, prosecutors said.

The disbarred lawyer also agreed to repay his victim's upwards of $1.8 million, according to the DA.