LOCKPORT — A prominent Falls attorney has been placed on interim probation in an effort to give him time to pay back clients he stole from.
Niagara County Court Judge John Ottaviano imposed the probation sentence Friday on Robert Koryl, 69, of Youngstown.
In August, Koryl pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges contained in a Niagara County grand jury indictment that accused him of stealing cash from his clients.
He admitted to two counts of third-degree grand larceny and two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny in connection to the thefts as part of a plea deal with Niagara County prosecutors. Koryl admitted to stealing cash from his clients that was supposed to be held in his attorney trust fund.
As part of his plea, Koryl agreed to repay $169,063 in restitution to his affected clients.
During his Friday appearance, Ottaviano delayed Koryl’s final sentencing until April 30 to allow him additional time to make the restitution payments. Koryl faces a possible prison term of up to 7 years.
He will also lose his license to practice law in New York state.
A Niagara County grand jury originally returned a six-count indictment that charged Koryl with one count of first-degree scheme to defraud, two counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree grand larceny and one count of fourth-degree grand larceny. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
He has remained free on his own recognizance while his case has moved through the courts.
Niagara County District Attorney Brian Seaman has called the case a violation of the public’s trust.
“When people go to a lawyer’s office to deal with complicated financial matters, they put themselves in the trust of that person,” Seaman said after Koryl’s plea. “An embezzlement by a lawyer is not just a theft, it is also a violation of fiduciary duty that does harm to the profession as a whole.”
Koryl practiced out of a Pine Avenue law office and his Martindale-Hubell and Lawyers.com profiles show that his work was largely involved with personal injury cases.
He was arrested in late June 2023 and originally charged in Falls City Court with one count of second-degree grand larceny and one count of third-degree grand larceny.
Prosecutors charged that Koryl “stole money belonging to his clients that he was supposed to be holding in his attorney trust account between 2016 and 2023.” Investigators from the district attorney’s office said they began looking into Koryl after receiving a complaint about his handling of clients’ funds.
Seaman has confirmed that Koryl was accused of defrauding five individual clients.