Disgraced Northcote lawyer John Kotsifas steals $1.7m to fund lavish lifestyle
A Northote lawyer stole $1.7 million from clients to fund a lavish lifestyle and luxury homes in Melbourne’s inner east because he felt pressured by his wife’s demands for a life he couldn’t afford.
Inner East
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The solicitor in this story, John James Kotsifas of Northcote law firm J Kotsifas & Associates, is in no way professionally related to Melbourne solicitor John Andrew Kotsifas of JK Legal Barristers and Solicitors.
A disgraced former Northcote lawyer has copped a hefty jail term after he was busted stealing $1.7 million worth of clients’ cash to fund a lavish lifestyle.
John Kotsifas, 55, owner of the Northcote firm J Kotsifas & Associate Lawyers, was last week sentenced by the Supreme Court to six years’ jail after earlier pleading guilty to theft and causing deficiencies in clients’ trust accounts.
The offences related to transactions ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars each between January 2013 and October 2015.
The court heard the cash was splashed on multi million-dollar homes in Balwyn, pricey renovations and a golf club membership.
He also used the money to service ballooning credit card debts and out-of-control loan repayments for his luxury Porsche, the court heard.
Kotsifas’s lawyer told the court he’d felt pressured by his wife to provide a luxurious lifestyle beyond his means.
He’d also previously faced disciplinary action for manipulating clients’ trust accounts dating as far back as 2006, the court heard, and since his latest offending was discovered and he was declared bankrupt in 2016 his marriage with his second wife had broken down.
Justice John Champion told the court one client was left “on the brink of homelessness” as a result of Kotsifas’s deceit, according to her victim impact statement tendered to the court.
Another told the court her late husband, Kotsifas’s long term client of 20 years, felt “gutted” by his actions, which he discovered while he was gravely ill and shortly before his death.
“She describes how sometimes you would visit their home with your children and that you invited them to your birthday party,” Justice Champion said.
“Some of your clients regarded you as a friend … these actions result in your conduct being all the more reprehensible.”
In sentencing Kotsifas last week, he said he’d not only caused pain and loss to his victims but also brought the legal profession into disrepute.
“Your actions have caused pain and misery to your clients, the people who trusted you. As a result of your offending, your career as a practising lawyer is finished and you are in disgrace,” Justice Champion said.
Kotsifas must serve four years’ jail before becoming eligible for parole.
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