A state grand jury has indicted an Ocean County elder law attorney and former radio talk-show host on charges that he stole $1.9 million from his elderly clients.

Manchester solo Robert Novy faces a 10-count indictment charging him with misapplication of entrusted property and multiple counts of theft and money laundering, according to a release Monday from the the state Attorney General's Office, which is prosecuting the case.

Novy, 66, a resident of Brick, has suspended his practice, and ethics proceedings are pending.

Meanwhile, Novy, through counsel, has denied wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charges.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in the release that Novy's victims generally did not have close relatives to monitor their interests, and, in some cases, the clients suffered from dementia.

As an expert in elder law, Novy hosted a bimonthly radio program, “Inside the Law,” on WOBM in Lakewood, which focused on topics of concern to senior citizens.

He was arrested on Oct. 18, 2016, after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his office, and was originally charged at that time. The charges were then referred to the grand jury, according to the office.

The Attorney General's Office obtained court orders freezing over $3.5 million in assets held by Novy and appointing a trustee to oversee the firm's business operations.

“Novy allegedly stole nearly $2 million from vulnerable clients, preying on seniors who were frail and isolated and who trusted him as their attorney to guard their life savings,” Grewal said in a statement. “It is hard to imagine a more callous personal and professional betrayal.”

“We allege that Novy systematically drained his clients' assets, laundering funds through various bank accounts and charging unauthorized fees to enrich himself and his firm,” added Elie Honig, the director of the Division of Criminal Justice, in the statement.

The indictment alleges that from 2009 through 2016, Novy stole approximately $1.9 million from six elderly clients, in amounts ranging from about $45,000 to nearly $740,000. In what the office says is an ongoing investigation, the Division of Criminal Justice is looking at numerous additional suspicious financial transactions involving funds of other Novy clients, according to the release.

Prosecutors allege that Novy stole funds from elderly and deceased clients who often did not have a close relative to claim their estate or challenge Novy's actions. He allegedly used the stolen funds for his own benefit, paying personal and business expenses.

Novy, the release said, gained control through wills, powers of attorney, and trust documents, making himself the sole financial decision-maker for the clients. When clients had sizable assets in the form of an annuity or life insurance policy, Novy allegedly directed insurance companies to redeem the policies and send the money directly to him. In some cases, when challenged by trustees or relatives about particular funds that had been withdrawn from client accounts, Novy claimed they were “administrative errors” and repaid the funds, prosecutors said.

The indictment alleges that Novy engaged in three different schemes, by which he stole funds from six clients:

• The indictment charges Novy with transferring funds from his clients' personal bank accounts or liquidated personal assets into his own bank account. Novy is accused of stealing $322,342 from four of the six victims in this manner.

• Prosecutors said Novy stole $929,026 from three victims by transferring funds from personal accounts or liquidated assets into Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (IOLTA) sub-accounts he controlled when those funds should have instead been placed in independent, managed trust funds selected by the clients.

• Novy also is charged with taking $659,457 by transferring money from personal and trust accounts to firm business accounts. He's accused of excessively billing the clients for power of attorney fees without invoicing.

“He's going to fight this indictment and plead not guilty,” said Novy's attorney, Gerald Krovatin.

“Bob Novy went the extra mile for all of his clients. Anyone who knows him knows he would never do anything to take advantage of his clients,” added Krovatin, of Krovatin & Klingeman in Newark.

Deputy Attorneys General Peter Gallagher and William Conlow presented the case to the state grand jury, according to the statement.