January 10, 2018

New Jersey announced that a lawyer from Ocean County who formerly practiced in Jersey City was convicted at trial on charges that he stole approximately $1.5 million from five clients over a period of more than a decade. Joseph J. Talafous Jr., 55, of Toms River, N.J., was found guilty by a Hudson County jury of three counts of theft by unlawful taking (2nd degree), three counts of theft by failure to make required disposition of property received (2nd degree), five counts of misapplication of entrusted property (four 2nd degree and one 3rd degree), two counts of theft by deception (2nd degree and 3rd degree), and four counts of filing fraudulent state income tax returns (3rd degree). The verdict followed a six-week trial before Superior Court Judge Mirtha Ospina in Jersey City. The second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison. Talafous is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 16. NJ

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud,