Long Valley Man Gets Five Years for Bilking Estate

Long Valley resident and former attorney Pieter DeJong was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $265,000 from a real estate property closing.

DeJong, a disbarred real estate attorney, admitted his guilt to theft by failure to make required disposition on March 16 to Morris County Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz.

DeJong was originally charged by indictment with one count of theft, one count of theft by failure to make required disposition and one count of misapplication of entrusted property—all second-degree crimes—after an investigation revealed he allegedly stole $265,551.57 during the closing of a property sale.

"An attorney is trusted to guard the funds of their client,” Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said in a statement. “This defendant flagrantly abdicated that responsibility and the prosecution believed that a state prison plea was the only acceptable deterrent for this egregious transgression."

DeJong was disbarred on Sept. 20, 2009, when the allegations were brought forward. DeJong acted as the settlement attorney for a client on Jan. 26, 2005. The victim, however, died on Feb. 20, 2005, before endorsing two settlement checks, one in the amount of $264,551.57, and another for $1,000, according the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.

The prosecutor's office began an investigation after the estate attorney for the deceased learned in 2007 the two checks were not negotiated, and DeJong was unwilling to comply with the request of returning the funds, the prosecutor's office said.

"I applaud the attorney ethics board that took decisive action against the defendant's license and referred this matter to this office," Bianchi said.

"Our attorney profession is an honorable one and most attorneys fulfill their responsibilities in an ethical fashion. This case once again demonstrates the ethics committee and Morris County Prosecutors Office's commitment to ferret out those attorneys who otherwise sully our profession to an already suspecting public."