A Hazlet attorney has been arrested for stealing $285,000 from his clients, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Steven H. Salami, 44, of Hazlet, was arrested on Oct. 4 and charged with two counts of misapplication of entrusted property, second degree crimes, and three counts of misapplication of entrusted property, third degree crimes, after an investigation revealed he stole $285,000 from four victims from April through August, according to a press release from the prosecutor’s office.
Salami is a practicing attorney with a law office located in Hazlet. Salami is currently being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold, pending a detention hearing, according to the press release.
As a real estate attorney, Salami took funds from each victim for various real estate transactions and failed to do the work for which he was paid, according to the press release.
The funds, which were given to Salami with the intent that they would be held in escrow for various real estate deals, were never returned to the victims, according to the press release.
Salami’s actions resulted in missed closing dates; nullified real estate transactions; and hardship to each victim, according to the press release.
The investigation was conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office with assistance from the Hazlet Township Police Department, according to the press release.
If convicted of misapplication of entrusted funds, second degree crimes, Salami faces a sentence of five to ten years in a New Jersey State Prison for each count. If convicted on the third degree crimes, Salami faces a sentence of five to ten years in a New Jersey State Prison for each count, according to the press release.
If anyone has information or feels that they are a victim of a crime involving Salami, contact Sergeant Kevin Mahoney of the Monmouth County Special Prosecutions Bureau at 732-431-7160, extension 2945.
