Authorities say Robert Novy stole from his clients between 2010 and 2015
MANCHESTER -- A prominent Ocean County attorney who specializes in elder care law was arrested on Tuesday and charged with stealing more than $1 million from some of his clients.
Robert Novy, one of the Shore's top experts in elder law, had already been brought up on ethics charges and now faces criminal charges for how he handled the funds of some of his clients, state Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in announcing the charges on Tuesday.
Robert Novy Porrino said Novy, who had his own radio show on topics of interest to senior citizens, is accused of stealing $1.2 million between 2010 and 2015 from at least four people, some of whom suffered from Alzheimer's or did not have or close relatives to keep track of their funds.
The state Division of Criminal Justice is continuing to investigate suspicious transactions related to more than a dozen more of Novy's clients, Porrino said.
Detectives also searched his law firm, Novy & Associates in Manchester, and seized billing records and other evidence, the attorney general said.
Porrino said his office obtained a court order freezing more than $3.5 million held in several bank accounts of Novy and his law firm. Attorneys from the Division of Criminal Justice also applied for a Superior Court judge to appoint a trustee to oversee the business operations of the law firm, he said.
Authorities contend Novy stole $78,000 from an 88-year-old woman who suffered from dementia by billing the woman and her estate a total of $78,000 that was not supported by any invoice or records showing justification, Porrino said.
Investigators said he stole more than $176,000 from an 85-year-old woman who suffered from Alzheimer's by, among other things, withdrawing $60,000 from her personal account and converting it into cashier's checks before depositing the checks directly into his personal account.
Novy used his power of attorney to liquidate an annuity of more than $122,000 the woman held and depositing the money into his attorney trust account, Porrino said. He said Novy wrote $117,000 in checks from that account to his law firm and claimed they were "power of attorney fees."
From another alleged victim - an 87-year-old woman - he stole at least $459,000 from an 87-year-old woman by depositing the proceeds of two annuities totaling $387,000 into his attorney trust account and then transferring the money into his law firm's business accounts, Porrino said. Novy claimed part of the money was for attorneys' fees and power of attorney fees, but he did not justify those large fees, he said.
He stole nearly $550,000 from another elderly woman by transferring almost $300,000 that he held for her in his attorney trust account into his firm's business accounts without any invoices or evidence that legal services were provided., the attorney general said.
And on another occasion, Novy wrote himself a check for $250,000 from the woman's personal bank account and deposited it into his own personal bank account, Porrino said.
When trustees or relatives of some clients challenged him about money that had been withdrawn from the accounts, Novy claimed they were administrative errors and repaid the money, Porrino said.
Novy, 65, until a few months ago appeared twice a month on WOBM on a radio show called "Inside the Law" to discuss issues facing seniors. A recipient of numerous awards, Novy also holds seminars and other public speaking engagements on the topic.
Novy, a Brick resident, was charged with first-degree money laundering, second-degree theft by unlawful taking, and second-degree misapplication of entrusted property. Novy will be lodged in the Ocean County Jail with money laundering, theft by unlawful taking and misapplication of entrusted property. His bail was set at $500,000.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.