Suffolk County Attorney Stole Young Girl's Inheritance: U.S. DOJ

SMITHTOWN, NY — A Suffolk County attorney pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the beneficiary of an estate — a young girl — from her inheritance in a wrongful death suit, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Vincent J. Trimarco Jr., 51, of Smithtown, a licensed New York attorney since 1997, made the guilty plea in federal court in Central Islip.

When sentenced, Trimarco faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as forfeiture, restitution and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss as a result of his crime, whichever is greater. Trimarco also agreed to pay more than $1 million in restitution as part of his plea agreement with the government.

Seth D. DuCharme, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the guilty plea.

"Trimarco defrauded a young girl of her inheritance violating the law as well as the trust placed in him as an attorney," DuCharme said in a news release. "Protecting the public from those who, for personal gain, abuse that trust and betray the oath they have sworn to uphold is a priority of this Office."

The girl's father died in the Suffolk County jail in 2005 when she was an infant, and the settlement was worth $2 million following the deduction of legal fees, Newsday reported. The girl's grandfather was charged as a co-conspirator, but he died before the investigation was finished, officials told Newsday.

The girl's grandfather originally received the settlement, but the Suffolk Surrogate Court ruled the girl as the rightful heir following a 2012 objection from her attorney, John Ray, Newsday reported.

From April 2012 through August 2017, Trimarco and the co-conspirator executed a scheme to defraud the girl of settlement proceeds stemming from a wrongful death action, officials said.

With the settlement money, Trimarco and the co-conspirator purchased luxury vehicles, including a Ferrari F430 Spider for $200,000 and a Jaguar XKR convertible for $57,000, as well as numerous properties in Suffolk County for more than $600,000, officials said. They also invested roughly $800,000 in the Emporium, a nightclub and music venue in Patchogue that, at times, Trimarco was part owner of, prosecutors said.

Despite orders from the Suffolk County Surrogate’s Court in April 2012, June 2012 and August 2012 restraining the disbursement of the settlement proceeds and ultimately directing the return of the funds, Trimarco and his co-conspirator sold the assets obtained with the settlement funds but failed to return the proceeds to the girl, officials said.

DuCharme thanked the FBI's New York Field Office for its work in the investigation.