Philadelphia lawyer charged with stealing $1 million from client

    Arrested last month in Alabama, Philadelphia lawyer Michael W. Kwasnik is now being held in Camden County, N.J., on charges that he stole $1 million from a client.

    Kwasnik is accused of stealing $1.1 million from an elderly Cherry Hill client who hired him to administer the estate of her deceased sister. Kwasnik allegedly set up a general account and then withdrew from it. He has now also been charged in an $8.5 million scheme that defrauded dozens of investors.
    He faces second-degree charges of theft, misapplication of entrusted property and money laundering, which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison if convicted.

    Kwasnik is being held on $1 million bail, though the state’s attorney general’s office wants bail raised to $5 million and has requested a hearing to prevent Kwasnik from using clients’ funds to post bail.

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