Disbarred attorney charged with stealing $1.2M of client’s money

A former attorney from Baldwin surrendered to the Nassau County district attorney’s office on April 9, on the heels of an indictment that charged her with stealing $1.2 million from a physically and mentally disabled client.

According to Acting Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas, Janice Jessup, 67, who now lives in Charlotte, N.C., swindled her client — who was awarded the $1.2 million following eminent domain action on a property she owned in Westbury — by deceiving Nassau County Supreme Court into releasing the funds to Jessup’s own account because her client was disabled.

The client’s family retained Jessup, who is also known by her married name, Janice Jones, in 2007 to represent the woman in the eminent domain action, Singas said. Jessup received the funds by court order in 2008, but her client never saw the money. Jessup allegedly spent it on a variety of personal and business expenses that included direct payments to herself and members of her family as well as payments to other law clients of hers.

When the court inquired in 2008 about the residency of Jessup’s client, who was not in court, and whether she had the mental and physical capacity to consent to the funds being released to her attorney, Jessup submitted a power-of-attorney form to the court authorizing a family member of the client to act on her behalf. Jessup also submitted an affidavit allegedly signed by her client, stating, in part, that she was aware of the court proceedings, was disabled, was living at a relative’s home in Westbury and consented to the funds being released to Jessup as her attorney.

After a court-appointed referee made two visits to Westbury to determine the physical and mental capacities of Jessup’s client, as well as her residency and her consent to the funds’ being released to Jessup, the court issued an order in September 2008 authorizing the release. In reality, however, the client had been living in a North Shore care facility since 2006, and Jessup arranged for another person to impersonate her, according to Singas.

Prosecutors became aware of the scheme in 2013, Singas said, when a complaint was filed with the D.A.’s office. Jessup was disbarred in 2010 after she submitted her resignation to the New York State Bar Association while facing unrelated allegations of professional misconduct.

Jessup pleaded not guilty on April 9 to charges of first-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud. Acting Supreme Court Justice Jerald Carter set bail at $150,000 bond or $100,000 cash. She faces a maximum sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison, and was due back in court on Wednesday. Her attorney, Henry Jones, did not return a call seeking comment.