Crime & Safety

Disbarred Attorney Charged with Stealing $1.6 Million from Real Estate Client

One of the properties in question is on Cadillac Drive in East Meadow.

An Old Westbury man was arrested on Thursday and charged in connection to a real estate scam that robbed one investor out of more than $1.6 million, officials said.

James Kalpakis, 50, faces up to 25 years in prison for promising to invest his client’s money in three properties, one of which is on Cadillac Drive in East Meadow.

According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, Kalpakis approached the investor with three deals that would be “good opportunities.” These deals were presented between February and December of 2009.

Find out what's happening in East Meadowwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The client, however, was unaware that Kalpakis had been suspended from practicing law in 2005 after he was charged with 14 counts of professional misconduct. He was later disbarred in 2009.

The investor gave Kalpakis $825,000 for the purchase of a residential property on Ridge Drive in Old Westbury, and he received a deed from Kalpakis transferring ownership of the property to him from a Wells Fargo Bank. Next, the investor gave Kalpakis $289,000 to hold in escrow for the purchase of the East Meadow property. For that, the client received a letter from a different attorney acknowledging receipt of the funds. Finally, the investor gave Kalpakis $500,000 for the purchase of a business property on Glen Cove Road in Old Westbury. The client received a deed transferring ownership from JP Morgan Chase bank.

Find out what's happening in East Meadowwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It turned out that both deeds were forgeries, and the letter that came from the other attorney for the East Meadow property was not only a forgery, but it came from an address that did not even exist. The Old Westbury residence turned out to be Kalpakis’ wife’s home.

In total, Kalpakis stole $1.639 million from the investor.

“Mr. Kalpakis’s greed and lies make him no more than a common thief,” District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. “Given this defendant’s history of deceiving clients and abusing their trust, it was only a matter of time before he found himself in handcuffs.”

Kalpakis is charged with first degree grand larceny and three counts of second degree criminal possession of a forged document. He will be arraigned on Wednesday in first district court in Hempstead.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.