DA: Disbarred attorney stole more than $400G from estate

A disbarred attorney from Bellmore stole more than $400,000 from an estate he represented, prosecutors said Friday.

Robert Alan Wagner, 63, was charged with larceny in the second degree and released on $200,000 bail after his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. He faces 5 to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Singas said her office began an investigation in July 2015 after the executor of the estate and one of the intended beneficiaries of the estate filed complaints with her office.

The theft occurred during 2013, the prosecutor said.

Wagner’s attorney, Joel R. Weiss of Uniondale, said that, “At this juncture, Bob Wagner has paid every cent back to the beneficiaries. Moreover he has surrendered his law license.”

Online records show Wagner was disbarred on March 11, 2015, about four months before the latest thefts were reported to the district attorney’s office.

Weiss declined to comment about the disbarment records or to answer other questions.

A spokesman for Singas said the thefts leading to his disbarment were not in Nassau and not related to the current case.

There was no record of any prosecution against Wagner for the earlier thefts, which according to the disbarment records included misappropriating $280,000 of a client’s money.