A former Great Neck attorney, Marco Materassi, the former principal attorney at Materassi Legal P.C., was charged by Suffolk County district attorney with grand larceny for allegedly stealing $30,000 in an act of real estate escrow theft.
According to Suffolk County law enforcement’s investigation, Materassi allegedly was hired to represent a seller in a real estate transaction in 2024. The buyer and seller both agreed via a contract that the required $30,000 down payment from the buyer would be held in Materassi’s escrow account. Prior to the closing, the buyer and seller agreed to terminate the contract. Subsequently, Materassi had to return the down payment to the buyer.
Materassi allegedly did not respond to the inquiries from either party and failed to return the funds, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. It was later discovered that Materassi allegedly spent the down payment on personal and business expenses.
This case is similar to that of Daphna Zekaria, former partner at the Huntington law firm of Sokolski and Zekaria, P.C. In May, Zekaria was charged with grand larceny, a scheme to defraud and criminal contempt for allegedly stealing nearly $400,000 from clients.
Materassi is to return to court on Aug. 1, where he will face two and one-third to seven years in prison if convicted on the top count.
