Hazlet Attorney Pleads Guilty To Bilking Clients Of  $1 Million In Theft Scheme

Monday, October 21, 2024, 10:10 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News, 

HAZLET, NJ.- Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago reported that a real estate attorney from Hazlet, New Jersey, admitted guilt to stealing over $1 million from sixty clients.

     On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, Steven H. Salami, 49, of Hazlet, appeared in Monmouth County Superior Court and pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Christie Bevacqua to second-degree Financial Facilitation of Criminal Activity.

Detectives Launch Investigation

     The charge and guilty plea stem from an investigation that began when Detectives of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes and Special Prosecutions Unit launched an inquiry into Salami’s activities after receiving reports from four victims that had been defrauded out of around $300,000 from April through August 2019.

     During the investigation, Detectives determined that Salami, as an attorney, accepted funds from each victim for various real-estate transactions, depositing the funds into escrow but failing to perform the legal services he was paid for. These actions resulted in missed property closing dates and canceled contracts for the victims, among other issues.

     Following Salami being taken into custody in August 2019, Detectives continued with their investigation, uncovering dozens of additional victims and leading to a Monmouth County Grand Jury returning a 63-count indictment against Salami in July 2021. 

     Following the indictment, the case was removed from the scheduling docket until the Superior Court Appellate Division, in November 2023, granted the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office appeal to reinstate two counts of the indictment that the lower court dismissed.

     During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Bevacqua scheduled Salami to be sentenced on Friday, January 17, 2025, at which time the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office will recommend that Salami be sentenced to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison, plus full restitution to the New Jersey Lawyers Fund for Client Protection which had reimbursed the victims.