A disbarred New Jersey lawyer admits to stealing more than $1 million from clients

A former New Jersey real estate lawyer admitted Tuesday to stealing $1.18 million from clients, the Monmouth County District Attorney’s Office said.

Steven Salami, 49, of Hazlet, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Christie Bevacqua to second-degree financial aiding and abetting criminal activity, authorities said.

Salami, who was based in Hazlet in Monmouth County, accepted money from his clients for “various real estate transactions” and never did the work he was expected to do, authorities said in a news release.

The funds he was supposed to set aside in escrow for the deals were never returned to his victims, leading to missed closing dates and nixed real estate transactions, prosecutors said.

An investigation uncovered dozens of victims, leading to a 63-count indictment against Salami being thrown out by a Monmouth County grand jury in July 2021.

During the ongoing criminal case, Salami’s attorney successfully argued to the judge that two of the charges should be dismissed – first-degree financial aiding and abetting criminal activity, more commonly known as money laundering. The appeals court reversed that decision, finding that the judge had erred in considering the allegations against Salami.

During grand jury testimony, a Monmouth County detective presented evidence that Salami was using trust money from new clients to transact business from existing clients, essentially running a Ponzi scheme with his law firm.

Salami’s attorney, Steven E. Nelson, could not be reached for comment.

Salami is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17, 2025, as the state will demand a 10-year prison sentence and restitution payment to the organization that compensated his victims.

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Deion Johnson can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram at @DeionRJohnson or X @DeionRJohnson.