Albany Attorney Admits to Stealing from Elderly Clients in $11.8 Million Estate Fraud

Richard J Sherwood, 58, pled guilty last week to money laundering and tax crimes stemming from a scheme to steal millions from estates of elderly clients that he was serving as attorney and fiduciary. Between Sherwood and his co-conspirator they stole a total of $11.8 million from an elderly couple, the wife’s sister, and a client from Ohio that suffered from dementia.

Sherwood had been a practicing attorney in New York since 1988, primarily in the field of trusts and estates. He became the attorney for the couple of Warren and Pauline Bruggeman in 2006, as well as Pauline’s sister Anne Urban, all of Niskayuna, New York. They all signed will directing the majority of their assets to be transferred to charities upon their deaths.

“Warren Bruggeman died in April 2009, and Pauline died in August 2011. At the time of her death, Pauline had personal and trust assets valued at approximately $20 million.” Anne Urban passed away not long after in 2013. The conspirarcy also included the grabbing of funds from Julia Rentz, a resident of Ohio, who was suffering from dementia at the time of the thefts and died in 2013 as well.

Sherwood faces up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to 3 years of post-imprisonment supervised release. He also served as Guilderland Town Justice from 2014 until his arrest on February 23, 2018. He resigned his position on March 5.

See Albany Attorney Admits to Stealing from Elderly Clients in $11.8 Million Estate Fraud, US. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, June 11, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.