A Bergen County attorney with a suspended law license was arrested Tuesday after he was accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his clients, authorities said.
Starting in May 2023, four clients reported to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office that, as early as 2014, they had been involved in real estate transactions with Martin Fishman, 73, of Franklin Lakes, the office said. Fishman allegedly had not repaid his loans, fraudulently drafted mortgage notes, dispersed bounced checks for real estate closings and misapplied funds intended for an attorney trust account, the office said.
Following these alleged actions, he would cease communications with the clients as they scrambled to recoup their money, investigators said. The allegedly stolen funds totaled over $600,000.
His license to practice law in New Jersey was suspended on June 30, 2023, with a claim of a $90,000 misappropriation of funds, according to online records.
The prosecutor’s office said his license was also revoked in New York. The reason why was not immediately clear.
Fishman was arrested on Tuesday and charged with second degree theft by unlawful taking or disposition, second-degree theft by deception, second-degree theft by failure to make required disposition of property received, second-degree misapplication of entrusted property, second-degree impersonation and third-degree forgery, officials said.
He was taken to the Bergen County Jail pending his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, the office said. Attorney information for him was not immediately available.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
