(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Michael Tulchiner, 61, of Bellmore, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years of probation after pleading guilty in January to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, for stealing money that was designated to pay off a client’s loan as part of a real estate transaction.
“This former attorney now stands convicted and sentenced for stealing from a client,” said District Attorney Tierney. “This was a calculated abuse of trust, and it ends in public disgrace, restitution, and accountability. No one is above the law. Attorneys who betray their duty will be exposed and prosecuted.”
Tulchiner, the former principal attorney at The Law Office of Michael J. Tulchiner, based in Melville, stole $413,237 from his mortgage disbursement account between August and December of 2022.
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, Tulchiner was hired to represent his client at the closing of a real estate transaction. Part of the closing required Tulchiner’s client to pay off a prior loan on the property that was being sold. Tulchiner was provided with a refinance loan on behalf of his client, a portion of which was designated specifically to be used to pay off the prior loan.
The refinance loan was placed in Tulchiner’s mortgage disbursement account, and he was authorized to use the funds only for the designated purpose of paying the required amounts to close on the sale of the property. Tulchiner was required to pay $413,237 to a mortgage company for his client and he ordered a bank check for that purpose on August 26, 2022. However, rather than delivering that check, Tulchiner redeposited the money back into his account on August 29, 2022. An analysis of Tulchiner’s bank account revealed that he subsequently spent the money on expenses related to his firm and unrelated to the authorized transaction.
On January 27, 2026, Tulchiner, pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins.
On April 15, 2026, Tulchiner was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years of probation. As part of the plea agreement, he was ordered to pay back $499,000 in full restitution and agreed to forfeit his license to practice law. He was represented by Scott Gross, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Tara K. O’Donnell of the Public Corruption Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by the District Attorney’s Public Corruption Squad.
