A judge sentenced Kossoff, 68, to between 4 and 1/2 to 13 and 1/2 years in prison on Friday morning for three counts of grand larceny and one count of scheme to defraud after he used funds stolen from his clients’ escrow accounts to fund his lifestyle expenses, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“When clients hire counsel to represent them, they expect their attorney will follow the highest ethical standards. Yet Mitchell Kossoff violated the fundamental trust of his clients by taking millions for himself,” said District Attorney Bragg.
“Rosita Joseph allegedly used her position as Chief Operating Officer to raid her employer’s coffers for personal gain, which included using hundreds of thousands of dollars for extravagant travel purchases and inflated paychecks. We will not allow unscrupulous employees to use their companies as a personal piggy bank,” said District Attorney Bragg.
“I grew up in the shadow of the Central Park Five case, which had an incredibly deep impact on me,” said Bragg. “I was actually pulled over with some friends by the police not long after, who started interrogating us about a crime that we didn’t commit. I was lucky—the reality of being a Black man meant I could have been one of the Exonerated Five.”
“It has never been easier to sell stolen products online – it is time we address this seemingly open spigot of marketplaces that freely sell these goods without consequences,” said District Attorney Bragg.
