Michael Kwasnik (Courtesy photo)Former NJ Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Stealing $125K From Client
Michael Kwasnik pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
November 28, 2018 at 06:26 PM
2 minute read
A former New Jersey lawyer has admitted to his role in a money-laundering scheme that prosecutors say sapped $125,000 of client money into his law firm's account to disguise the source of the fraud.
Michael W. Kwasnik, who was previously associated with the Cherry Hill firm of Kwasnik, Rodio, Kanowitz & Buckley and a successor firm, pleaded guilty on Wednesday before Senior Judge Robert Kugler of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey.
In exchange for Kwasnik pleading guilty to a single money-laundering count, prosecutors agreed to drop a host of other fraud-related charges against him, according to a plea agreement dated Oct. 31.
He was charged with setting up an irrevocable trust account for a client in an estate matter in April 2011 and then transferring $125,774 to a firm account—without client permission—in order to hide what was a theft of those funds.
Kwasnik, 49, of North Miami Beach, Florida, was originally charged with many more thefts than the one to which he pleaded guilty. He was indicted last February on charges that he and others operated a Ponzi scheme that scammed some $13 million from his clients from 2008 to 2011 by diverting trust account funds to various business entities they created.
Richard Klineburger, a Haddonfield lawyer who represents Kwasnik, said his client previously pleaded guilty to related state-level charges and is taking responsibility for his actions. He also noted that federal prosecutors had originally indicted Kwasnik on 22 fraud-related charges, and the plea deal only required him to plead to one of those charges.
“All things considered, where my client was facing life in prison for all of these charges, the plea to the one count of $125,000 is what he deemed to be proper, and the government treated him very fairly,” Klineburger said.
“My client has been making restitution payments and has voluntarily given up his law license,” Klineburger said.
He added that Kwasnik “at one point had a very promising law career” and “is willing to accept whatever the court has for him when it comes to a sentence.''
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Appellate Div. Follows Fed Reasoning on Recusal for Legislator-Turned-Judge
4 minute read
Chiesa Shahinian Bolsters Corporate Practice With 5 From Newark Boutique
5 minute read
On the Move and After Hours: Brach Eichler; Cooper Levenson; Marshall Dennehey; Archer; Sills Cummis
7 minute read
'A Mockery' of Deposition Rules: Walgreens Wins Sanctions Dispute Over Corporate Witness Allegedly Unfamiliar With Company
Trending Stories
- 1Cars Reach Record Fuel Economy but Largely Fail to Meet Biden's EPA Standard, Agency Says
- 2How Cybercriminals Exploit Law Firms’ Holiday Vulnerabilities
- 3DOJ Asks 5th Circuit to Publish Opinion Upholding Gun Ban for Felon
- 4GEO Group Sued Over 2 Wrongful Deaths
- 5Revenue Up at Homegrown Texas Firms Through Q3, Though Demand Slipped Slightly
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
