Disbarred Delco lawyer accused of theft
Shortly after getting out of prison in 2005 for stealing $109,000 from disabled veterans for whom he served as a trustee, disbarred Havertown attorney George Young III sank to a new low - stealing from the dead, Delaware County prosecutors alleged yesterday.
Shortly after getting out of prison in 2005 for stealing $109,000 from disabled veterans for whom he served as a trustee, disbarred Havertown attorney George Young III sank to a new low - stealing from the dead, Delaware County prosecutors alleged yesterday.
Though disbarred for his conviction, Young, 49, of Newtown Square, was able to file claims on behalf of his former clients to the state's Bureau of Unclaimed Property, investigators said.
Those claims, paid out in checks totaling more than $21,000, were deposited into an account that Young, as an attorney, was required to keep in order to avoid commingling of personal and client funds, Michael Mattson, spokesman for the Delaware County District Attorney's Office said.
That account was never closed upon Young's disbarment or imprisonment, as it should have been, Mattson said.
From that account, Young transferred $7,500 into his personal bank account. The remainder of the funds were allegedly dispersed to their rightful heirs or returned to the state only after an investigation began.
The Bureau of Unclaimed Property, operated by the state Treasury, handles unclaimed funds from assets like life insurance policies, tax returns, estates and forgotten stocks.
Each year the bureau runs a list of names in newspapers of those who have unclaimed property, and people can search anyone's name on the bureau's Web site to determine if there is unclaimed money owed to that individual.
Prosecutors believe that Young searched former clients' names in newspaper postings or in the online database to determine if they had money coming to them.
Most of the individuals he filed claims on behalf of were dead, and their estates had not been fully dispersed or they did not leave a will, Mattson said.
When the rightful heirs were contacted by investigators, most of them had no idea a claim had been filed by Young on behalf of the estate, prosecutors said.
Young's scheme allegedly ran from 2005 to 2007. He was caught when, in July 2008, the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the governing body for attorneys in Pennsylvania, noticed his activity and contacted the state Treasury's Office of Investigations, Mattson said.
The individual alleged thefts ranged from $30 to as much as several thousand dollars, he said.
"In the aggregate it adds up," Mattson said. "It's not the amount - it's his scheme that's so disturbing. He's taking advantage of people who've died and left their property to their heirs."
George Young Jr., Young's father, with whom he worked until his disbarment and who is mentioned several times throughout his affidavit, has not been charged with any crimes.
Mattson declined to say if the elder Young was under investigation or if he was aware of his son's alleged wrongdoing.
Young has been charged with 40 counts of theft and 20 counts of receiving stolen property.
