A prominent and widely honored elder law attorney in the Jersey Shore area of New Jersey has been arrested and charged with stealing more than $1.2 million from four elderly clients. Robert Novy, 65, has been practicing elder law since 1978, according to his firm website, and until recently hosted a local radio show on topics of interest to seniors.
“While Novy held himself out as a leading legal advocate for the elderly, we allege that he corruptly used his reputation and his law license to prey on vulnerable seniors, taking control of their finances and stealing more than $1 million from their life savings,” New Jersey Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said.
According to Porrino, Novy gained control of the clients’ assets through wills, powers of attorney and trust documents, transferring funds from their accounts to his own or his firm’s accounts, and then billing for services without supporting invoices.
For example, Novy is accused of using a power of attorney to liquidate the $122,000 annuity of an 85-year-old woman who suffered from Alzheimer’s. He then allegedly deposited the money into his attorney trust account and wrote $117,000 in checks from that account to his law firm as "power of attorney fees." He also allegedly withdrew $60,000 from the same client’s personal account, with the money ending up in his personal account.
In another case, Novy had held nearly $300,000 in his attorney trust account for an elderly woman but is accused of transferring the money into his firm's business accounts without any invoices or evidence that legal services had been rendered. Novy also allegedly wrote himself a check for $250,000 from the same client’s personal bank account, depositing it into his own personal bank account.
Novy was earlier investigated by the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics, which issued an ethics complaint against him on January 26, 2016. According to news reports, when Novy was challenged by trustees or relatives about client accounts, he said they were "administrative errors" and repaid the money.
Novy was charged with first-degree money laundering, second-degree theft by unlawful taking, and second-degree misapplication of entrusted property, and is being held the Ocean County Jail, with bail set at $500,000. First-degree money laundering carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison.
Novy & Associates in Manchester, N.J. -- which according to the firm’s website employs at least 13 people, including three other attorneys -- was searched and billing records and other evidence were seized, while $3.5 million held in several of Novy’s firm’s and personal bank accounts have been frozen. Other allegedly suspicious transactions involving more than a dozen more of Novy’s clients are being investigated. Attorneys for the state have also asked a judge to appoint a trustee to oversee the law firm’s business operations.
Novy’s profile on his firm website states that, “Over the years, he has received dozens of awards for his generosity and volunteerism, among them: 1999 Toms River-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award; 2004 United Way of Ocean County Volunteer of the Year Award; 2010 American Cancer Society Citizen of the Year Award; and 2011 Monmouth-Ocean Development Council Community Service Award.” His professional affiliations are stated to include the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), although a search of NAELA’s site did not find him listed.
In a video testimonial on Novy's attorney page, the executive director of an area volunteer caregivers organization says of Novy: “He’s extremely loyal, he’s trustworthy, he’s professional, he’s knowledgeable – he’s a mensch, he’s an all-around mensch, he’s a good guy.”
For local news reports on Novy's arrest, click here and here.
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