A former attorney from Chatham will be behind bars for up to three years for stealing money from dozens of clients from Brooklyn, New York.

Raleigh Herbert, 61, pleaded guilty to embezzling over $500,000 from 2015 to 2021. He also admitted to stealing $96,000 by filing fraudulent loan application in COVID-19 relief funds.

"The theft of law client money is not only a crime, but a profound violation of the trust placed in lawyers. On behalf of the over 351,000 members of New York's legal profession, the Lawyers' Fund strives to restore that trust by reimbursing the financial harm caused by the statistically few in our profession who cause such losses," said Michael Knight, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection.

Raleigh was suspended from practicing law back in 2021 and disbarred in June 2022.