DA: Plainview Attorney Arrested

A Plainview attorney was arrested Wednesday for stealing money from a Brooklyn couple who hired him to represent them in a lawsuit, authorities said.

Matthew Kogan, 40, was charged with third-degree grand larceny.

“When attorneys take advantage of their position for their own financial gain, it isn’t just their clients who suffer the consequences,” Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said, in a press release.

“The attorney-client relationship is essential to the workings of our legal system, and must be protected,” she added.

According to Rice, a husband and wife hired Kogan in February 2013 to represent them in a breach of contract lawsuit. The case was eventually settled for $32,500, which payment should have been deposited in his Attorney Trust Account and the funds paid to the couple.

Instead, the money was deposited into Kogan’s operating account on Oct. 7, 2013. From Oct. 7, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2013, funds were either withdrawn or paid, or both, from the operating account for Kogan’s personal and professional expenses and obligations – including payroll, credit card and loan payments, the DA said.

In November 2013, the couple filed a complaint with the DA's criminal complaint unit. After becoming aware of the investigation, Kogan paid $20,000 to the couple in February 2014, leaving an unpaid balance of $12,500.

"There was no criminal intent by Mr. Kogan," Brian Griffin, a Garden City attorney who is representing Kogan, told Newsday. According to Griffin, the funds were unintentionally put into the wrong account. Kogan began to repay his clients once he realized the error, Griffin said.  

Kogan was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court on April 29. If convicted, he faces up to 2-1/3 to 7 years in prison.