NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A Florida man was charged with stealing over $90,000 from six Russian-speaking victims in Brooklyn while posing as an attorney, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Monday.
David Manasher, 44, of Margate, Florida, who at times also resided in New York and New Jersey, was arraigned on a 20-count indictment in which he is charged with second-, third- and fourth-degree grand larceny, immigrant assistant services fraud, forgery, offering a false instrument for filing, practicing law or appearing as attorney-at-law without being admitted and registered to practice and scheme to defraud.
Manasher was never registered to practice law, authorities said.
According to an investigation, between December 1, 2020, and March 15, Manasher defrauded six people out of approximately $93,000 while posing as a lawyer specializing in landlord-tenant, immigration, and contract law.
Manasher stole amounts ranging from approximately $2,000 to approximately $65,000, prosecutors said.
All six victims are Russian-speaking and either resided or worked in Brooklyn and retained Manasher through various referrals. Manasher was paid in the belief that he was a licensed attorney.
In one matter, Manasher forged a victim's signature on both a court filing and a retainer agreement, officials said.
One of the victims reported Manasher to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, prompting the launch of an investigation.
Manasher was released without bail and is set to return to court on August 21.
"As alleged, this defendant deceitfully portrayed himself as a practicing attorney to exploit the trust of New Yorkers in need of legal services. Instead of helping them, the defendant allegedly took advantage of them and lined his own pockets at their expense. We will now seek to hold him accountable for his alleged criminal actions. " DA Gonzalez said.
Anyone who believes that they have been victimized by this defendant are encouraged to contact the District Attorney's Action Center at 718-250-2340 or send an email to ManasherComplaints@brooklynda.org.
