Long Island Attorney Is Sentenced To 28 Months In Prison For Stealing $1.3 Million From Trust Fund Clients
Trust Funds Diverted to Pay for Car, High-End Stereo Equipment, Home Renovations and International Vacations
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – Earlier today, David Bodian, a Long Island attorney, was sentenced at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York, to 28 months in prison following his March 2016 guilty plea to wire fraud for stealing more than $1.3 million from a trust fund for which he was the trustee. The sentencing proceeding was held before United States District Judge Arthur D. Spatt. As part of the sentence, Bodian was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1.3 million to the Lou Bacon Trust.
The sentence was announced by Robert L. Capers, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
According to court filings and facts presented at the guilty plea and sentencing proceedings, in approximately 2000, Bodian was appointed the trustee of the Lou Bacon Trust, a trust fund that benefitted a number of individuals and charities. At the time of his appointment, the trust held over $1 million in total assets. In approximately 2005, Bodian began looting the fund of its assets to pay for his personal expenses, including a car, high-end audio equipment, home renovations, and international vacations. From approximately 2005 to 2015, he stole almost the entirety of the trust’s funds, leaving the trust with only $10,000 in cash. To perpetuate the scheme, Bodian lied to the beneficiaries about the amount of money in the trust bank accounts. For example, when a beneficiary asked for a copy of a trust bank statement, Bodian borrowed $150,000 from a friend to deposit in the trust’s account to inflate the trust’s assets. After providing a bank statement to the beneficiary that reflected the $150,000 Bodian had borrowed, he transferred the money back to his friend.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney Tyler Smith is in charge of the prosecution.
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This prosecution was the result of efforts by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions, and other organizations. Since the fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, visit http://www.StopFraud.gov.
