NJ.com published the following story on June 27, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Former Freehold attorney sentenced to prison for embezzling $885K
By Ashley Peskoe/NJ.com
on June 27, 2013 at 7:05 PM, updated June 27, 2013 at 7:07 PMTRENTON – A former Freehold attorney was sentenced to 33 months in prison for embezzling more than $885,000 and using the money to pay for personal expenses, including his children’s tuition and horse stable costs, U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced on Thursday.
Timothy Provost, 58, of Millstone, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $887,000 in restitution. He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.
Court documents showed that between April 2004 and January 2011, Provost admitted to writing checks from the trust and business accounts of the law firm where he worked to himself and personal creditors, according to the release.
Provost used the money embezzled from the law firm, where he was a partner, to pay for personal expenses including his mortgage, the release said.
Provost also mailed the checks he wrote to himself to personal creditors and tried to hide the theft by buying cashier’s checks made out to either himself or his creditors, the release said.
He had access to the law firm’s accounts in order to conduct real estate closings and refinancings on behalf of his clients, the release said, which added that several clients were left with double mortgages and insurance covered them.
The name of the law firm where he was employed was not released, howeverLaw360.com reported in December 2012 that Provost was most recently employed at Provost & Colrick in Freehold.
Provost was suspended from the New Jersey State Bar Association in March 2011 and disbarred in 2012, Law360.com reported.