Richard Sherwood.

ALBANY– The state's highest court suspended a town justice in the Capital Region who was arrested last week for allegedly stealing more than $4 million from a trust fund for which he was responsible.

The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday suspended Richard Sherwood, effective immediately, from his position as Town of Guilderland justice. Sherwood, who was a town attorney in Guilderland, Albany County, for 14 years before being elected to the court in 2013, will be suspended with pay, the state's highest court said. During session next month, the court will consider whether to continue Sherwood's suspension from the judicial office.

Last week, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office announced the arrest of Sherwood and financial adviser Thomas Lagan, both of whom are lawyers, for “orchestrating a complex scheme to steal millions from a trust they were overseeing.”

The felony complaint charged Sherwood with two counts of grand larceny, one count of scheme to defraud in the first degree and two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the first degree.

Sherwood is being represented in the matter by William Dreyer, a founding partner at Albany-based Dreyer Boyajian. Lagan is being represented by Cooperstown attorneys Ryan Miosek and Randel Scharf, according to Schneiderman's office. Calls to the defendants' lawyers for comment were not returned Tuesday afternoon.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, as well as Associate Justices Jenny Rivera, Eugene Fahey, Michael Garcia, Rowan Wilson and Paul Feinman, concurred with the decision. Associate Justice Leslie Stein, who is from Albany, took no part in the decision.