Lawyer’s show warned seniors of scams. But he preyed on clients with dementia, N.J. prosecutors say

On his popular radio show and during seminars, a New Jersey lawyer styled himself as “a leading legal advocate for the elderly,” prosecutors said.

But in his dealings with clients, that couldn’t have been further from the truth, according to the state’s attorney general. Robert Novy, a 66-year-old expert in elderly law, was indicted by a state grand jury on 10 counts after the attorney general’s office says he stole $1.9 million from elderly clients — in particular, from those suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

A resident of Brick, New Jersey, Novy spent years “preying on seniors who were frail and isolated and who trusted him as their attorney to guard their life savings,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement Monday announcing the indictment. “It is hard to imagine a more callous personal and professional betrayal.”

Novy was first arrested in October 2016 on related charges. Prosecutors allege that Novy preyed on six senior or deceased clients from 2009 to 2016 — targeting those who didn’t have relatives nearby to claim their estates or to notice Novy’s theft, prosecutors said. Through his attorney, Novy has denied the charges.

Novy “systematically drained his clients' assets, laundering funds through various bank accounts and charging unauthorized fees to enrich himself and his firm," Elie Honig, director of the state’s division of criminal justice, said in a statement.

Once Novy had the money, he’d channel stolen funds into business and personal expenses, the attorney general’s office said.

All of the victims were residents of Ocean County, New Jersey, prosecutors said. Novy faces two counts of unlawful taking, three counts of misapplication of entrusted property, one count of theft by deception, and four counts of money laundering.

Novy allegedly used a variety of legal tools to take advantage of the clients: wills, powers of attorney, trust documents and more. Novy would make himself “the sole financial decision-maker for the clients,” the attorney general’s office said, and would bill them for excessive legal fees without any invoices to back up the charges.

On some occasions Novy would tell insurance companies to send money from life insurance policies straight to him, according to prosecutors. And in the event that relatives noticed mysteriously vanishing funds, Novy would blame “administrative errors” and repay the funds, prosecutors said.

“[Novy] corruptly used his reputation and his law license to prey on vulnerable seniors,” then-Attorney General Christopher Porrino said in a statement when Novy was arrested in 2016. “In his greed, Novy not only betrayed his oath as a lawyer to uphold the law, he betrayed all standards of decency.”

New Jersey law enforcement officials said they’re still looking for any additional victims.

An attorney for Novy told the Asbury Park Press that his client did nothing wrong.

“Bob Novy went the extra mile for all of his clients,” Gerald Krovatin, Novy's lawyer, told the newspaper. “Anyone who knows him knows he would never steal from them or take advantage of them.”

Novy hosted his twice-monthly “Inside the Law” program for more than two decades on a local radio station — talking to listeners about everything from wills and power of attorney to Medicaid and scams that prey on seniors, the Park Press reports.

Meanwhile, an 88-year-old woman from Brick, New Jersey — who died in 2015 — had $738,457 stolen from her by Novy, prosecutors said. Novy stole another $650,700 from an 87-year-old Manchester woman who suffered from dementia and died in 2014, according to the attorney general's office.

Others from Brick, Manchester, Point Pleasant and Waretown lost between $45,000 and $242,000 from dealings with Novy, prosecutors said. Some of those victims suffered from Alzheimer's and dementia as well.

First-degree money laundering (which Novy faces two counts of) carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $200,000 and an anti-money laundering profiteering penalty of up to $500,000, prosecutors said.

This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Lawyer’s show warned seniors of scams. But he preyed on clients with dementia, N.J. prosecutors say."