A Wading River attorney has been indicted on grand larceny and related charges for allegedly stealing more than $855,000 from clients and others involved in legal transactions, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Wednesday.
Peter Giattino, 43, principal attorney at PVG Legal Solutions, was arraigned July 29 before Justice Steven A. Pilewski on two counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree grand larceny, one count of first-degree scheme to defraud and one count of petit larceny, according to the district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors said Giattino allegedly stole funds between October 2023 and October 2025 from multiple people who had hired or relied on him for legal work, including real estate transactions.
In one case, prosecutors said, Giattino allegedly received $94,000 in September 2024 as a buyer’s down payment in a residential real estate transaction while representing the seller. Instead of holding the money in escrow until closing, he allegedly spent it on gambling expenses and cash withdrawals, prosecutors said.
In another case, prosecutors said a client hired Giattino in June 2025 to represent him in the purchase of a Southampton home and wired $751,687.71 to Giattino on June 13, 2025. Giattino allegedly withdrew the money through bank checks, ATM transactions and cash withdrawals, and spent some of it at local and out-of-state casinos, according to prosecutors.
After the real estate closing was canceled, the buyer hired a new attorney and repeatedly asked that the money be transferred to the new lawyer, prosecutors said. By October 2025, Giattino had allegedly spent all of the funds on unauthorized personal and gambling expenses, prosecutors said.
The indictment also alleges Giattino took $4,500 from a client in October 2023 to pursue funds from a car dealership related to a damaged vehicle, but did no work on the matter and failed to return the money; took $480 from a traffic-ticket client in October 2024 to pay a fine but allegedly used the money for personal expenses; and took $4,450 from a client in June 2025 for a real estate deed transfer, then allegedly became unresponsive and failed to return the client’s documents or money.
In all, Giattino is accused of stealing $855,480, according to the district attorney’s office.
Giattino was released on his own recognizance because the charges are not bail-eligible under current New York law, prosecutors said. He is due back in court Sept. 25 and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is represented by George Duncan, according to the district attorney’s office.
Anyone who believes they were victimized by Giattino is asked to call the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office at 631-853-4626.
The case is being prosecuted by Katharine R. D’Aquila of the district attorney’s Public Corruption Bureau. The investigation was conducted by the district attorney’s Public Corruption Squad.
Editor’s note: Criminal charges are accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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