According to a May 28 announcement by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, a Manhattan-based real estate attorney has been charged with stealing approximately $700,000 from three of her clients.
The district attorney identified the defendant as Apryl Hand, 53, whose law office was located at 1460 Broadway in Manhattan. She was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which she is charged with three counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud. The defendant was released without bail and ordered to return to court on Aug. 12.
Court records indicate that Hand committed the offenses after being retained as a seller’s attorney in three separate real estate closings last year.
According to the investigation into Hand’s activities, between November 2025 and May of this year, the defendant allegedly stole approximately $701,600 from three of her clients who she represented in the sale of their Brooklyn homes. The alleged thefts were in the amounts of $348,000, $177,500 and $175,600.
In each instance, the purchasers of the properties wired the funds due at closing to the defendant’s escrow account, but she allegedly did not turn over the money to her clients. Despite their demands, she allegedly failed to return any of the money to any of the three clients.
“For most people, buying or selling a home is one of the largest financial transactions of their lives, and they are entitled to trust that the professionals involved will safeguard their money,” Gonzalez said in a press release. “As alleged, this defendant abused that trust, violated her duties as a lawyer, and stole more than $700,000 from three clients who were waiting for the proceeds from the sale of their homes. My Office is committed to protecting homeowners, buyers, and sellers in Brooklyn, and to holding accountable attorneys and other professionals who use their position to steal from the people they are supposed to protect.”