A former Riverhead attorney pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree yesterday in Suffolk County Criminal Court in connection with the theft of $25,000 he was holding in escrow for a client, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced today.
Peter Saad Jr., 48, of Calverton was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay restitution and complete 210 hours of community service, the district attorney said in a press release.
Saad was charged in December 2023 with two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree in connection with the alleged theft. In January 2024, he was disbarred from the practice of law.
The charges stem from a real estate transaction in 2020 in which Saad represented the seller. Per the agreement of the parties, Saad retained the sum of $25,000 in his escrow account after a September 2020 closing, to secure resolution of outstanding permit issues. The attorney stopped responding to the parties and also failed to cooperate with the grievance committee’s investigation and failed to comply with judicial subpoenas, according to a June 2022 order suspending his law license.
“When an attorney violates the sacred trust placed in them by their clients, they undermine the very foundation of our legal system,” Tierney said in the press release. “The disbarment and guilty plea here demonstrate that no one is above the law, especially those who are entrusted to uphold it.”
Saad entered his plea April 16 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski, Tierney said. Saad is represented by attorney Christopher Gioe of Hauppauge. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Patrick Rooney of the Public Corruption Bureau.
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