Manhattan Real Estate Lawyer Indicted for Stealing Over $700,000 from Three Clients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Manhattan Real Estate Lawyer Indicted for
Stealing Over $700,000 from Three Clients

Defendant Allegedly Stole Money from Sellers She Represented in Property Transactions

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a real estate attorney has been charged with stealing approximately $700,000 from three of her clients after being retained as a seller's attorney in three separate real estate closings last year.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, "For most people, buying or selling a home is one of the largest financial transactions of their lives, and they are entitled to trust that the professionals involved will safeguard their money. As alleged, this defendant abused that trust, violated her duties as a lawyer, and stole more than $700,000 from three clients who were waiting for the proceeds from the sale of their homes. My Office is committed to protecting homeowners, buyers, and sellers in Brooklyn, and to holding accountable attorneys and other professionals who use their position to steal from the people they are supposed to protect."

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Apryl Hand, 53, whose law office was located at 1460 Broadway in Manhattan. She was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which she is charged with three counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud. The defendant was released without bail and ordered to return to court on August 12, 2026.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, between November 2025 and May 2026, the defendant, who specialized in real estate, allegedly stole approximately $701,600 from three of her clients who she represented in the sale of their Brooklyn homes. The alleged thefts were in the amounts of $348,000, $177,500 and $175,600.

In each instance, the purchasers of the properties wired the funds due at closing to the defendant's escrow account, but she allegedly did not turn over the money to her clients. Despite their demands, she allegedly failed to return any of the money to any of the three clients.

The District Attorney thanked Financial Investigator Jose Covas of the Investigations Division for his assistance on this case.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney T. Peter Choi of the District Attorney's Investigations Division, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Adam Libove, Chief of the District Attorney's Public Integrity Bureau, and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, and Assistant District Attorney Patricia McNeill, Chief of the Investigations Division.

#

An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant's guilt.