Huntington lawyer pleads guilty to nearly $400K client theft

An attorney from a Huntington law firm has pleaded guilty to grand larceny and other charges for stealing nearly $400,000 from clients.  

Daphna Zekaria, a partner in the Sokolski and Zekaria law firm, was hired to represent a woman in her divorce and, later, for the sale of her marital home, according to a statement from Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office. Between Dec. 29, 2021 and March 4, 2022, Zekaria received about $150,000, which were the proceeds of the sale of her client’s home, but instead of holding the funds in escrow, she allegedly used the funds for personal and business expenses. 

In Dec. 2021, Zekaria was hired by a New York State Lottery winner, and made promises to hold a portion of her client’s money in the firm’s escrow account and invest an additional portion on his behalf. Instead, the DA said Zekaria made large transfers of money to other individuals and collected a total of $230,000 from the victim in three separate transactions. 

Zekaria was retained by an elderly Manhattan woman in March 2023 to assist her in contesting eviction proceedings. Zekaria took $17,500 from the victim to represent her but performed no legal work on her behalf, according to the DA. After the victim requested her money back 13 days after providing the payment, Zekaria had spent the victim’s money on LIPA payments and credit card bills. 

“The deliberate theft of nearly $400,000 from client escrow accounts represents a serious violation of professional duty and criminal law,” Tierney said in the statement. “This guilty plea ensures this defendant will be held accountable to make her clients whole for this egregious abuse of trust.” 

On May 21, Zekaria pleaded guilty in front of Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro to two counts of grand larceny in the second degree, a class C felony; grand larceny in the third degree, a class D felony; scheme to defraud in the first degree, a class E felony; and criminal contempt in the second degree, a Class A misdemeanor, according to the statement. 

Ambro ordered Zekaria to pay restitution of $373,500 by May 2026 or face two to six years in prison. Zekaria’s law license is currently suspended pending disbarment proceedings. She is being represented by the Legal Aid Society.