Disbarred Lawyer Stole $3.5+ Million From Clients: Westchester DA

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY — Former real estate lawyer Laurieanne DeLitta was indicted for stealing more than $3.5 million from eight clients she represented between 2017 and 2021, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced Wednesday.

A Briarcliff Manor resident who had practiced in Armonk, DeLitta, 50, was charged by a Westchester County Grand Jury and arraigned Wednesday on eight counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree and two counts of Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, all felonies.

According to the indictment, between January 2017 and March 2021, DeLitta stole over $3.5 million from eight individuals and estates. She was also charged with two counts of practicing law without a license.

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court had disbarred DeLitta in May after she offered no defense to misconduct claims made to the Grievance Committee of the 9th Judicial District.

The court directed that she repay Ira T. Cohen $500,812.60;  Joseph Vallarelli $230,822.02;  the Estate of Wundeler $600,000; and Roberta Stein-Ham $130,000, and that she reimburse the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection of the State of New York for any sum that the fund awards to any individuals who filed or may file claims against her.

However, though DeLitta had agreed in November 2020 that she would not take on new clients, TJN reported in May that she was accused of keeping $495,000 from the proceeds of a home sale she handled in January. Moreover, a lawsuit accused her of withholding more than $486,000 from the sale of a Larchmont woman’s condominium.

Her business profile was still up on LinkedIn on Thursday.

According to her bio there, "prior to practicing law, she was employed as a paralegal in two small Westchester law firms while attending New Rochelle High School, Iona College and Fordham University School of Law. After graduating from Fordham University School of Law and passing the NYS Bar Exam in 1998, she worked Of Counsel in a New Rochelle, New York General Practice Law Firm for nine years doing primarily Family Law, Real Estate, Wills, Trusts and Estates and General Litigation. In April 2010, she opened her own practice in Armonk, New York which focuses on representing individuals and families in Matrimonial and Family Law matters, Real Estate transactions, Personal Injury Actions, Business Formations and Agreements and Estate Planning, Administration and Litigation. Laurieanne prides herself on providing compassionate and effective advocacy and treating each client as though they are her most important client. One of her greatest accomplishments is that her clients typically return to her for all of their legal needs and refer their friends and family as well."

DeLitta is scheduled to appear again in Westchester County Court on Nov. 29. The case is before Judge Susan Cacace in Westchester County Court, and is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Cooper Gorrie.

If anyone has been a victim or has further information on this case, please contact the District Attorney’s Office at (914) 995-TIPS.

The charges against the defendant are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, the DA's office noted.