An infamous ambulance-chasing lawyer — exposed as a scammer by The Post in 2019 — was sentenced to four years behind bars for filing close to 300 sham lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act in New York and Florida.
Stuart Finkelstein, 68, was handed the sentence Thursday from Manhattan federal Judge Paul Gardephe, who also slapped him with three years of post-release supervision and over $800,000 in fines and forfeitures.
Gardephe will determine the restitution Finkelstein must pay at a later date.
The Davie, Fla., man pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in July 2022 for a scheme in which he filed hundreds of suits under the identities of two people who had no idea he was claiming to represent them.
Through the fraudulent litigation, Finkelstein cost businesses over $1.5 million in settlement deals — and personally profited to the tune of $650,000, prosecutors have said.
Finkelstein also lied in court while he was under oath to try to keep his scam under wraps, the feds claimed.
Disgraced lawyer Stuart Finkelstein was sentenced to four years in prison for filing hundreds of bogus lawsuits on behalf of unwitting clients.
He had faced up to 20 years in prison if he’d been convicted at trial.
In 2019, The Post revealed that Finkelstein had filed more than 25 lawsuits on behalf of clients including Jose Figueroa — who was wheelchair-bound for months after a spinal surgery — without Figueroa’s knowledge or consent.
The crooked lawyer was arrested that same year, with prosecutors saying they found that he’d carried out the con from 2013 through 2016 using two people’s identities without their knowledge.
Max Leifer said Finkelstein was demanding $25,000 in fees on top of his own legal defense costs. Matthew McDermottHe was charged with mail fraud, identity theft, and obstruction of justice.
The fraudster was disbarred in New York in 2007 after resigning over misconduct allegations and then was reinstated in 2016.
“Stuart Finkelstein, a practicing attorney, filed hundreds of fraudulent lawsuits in which he brought false claims of violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is meant to protect vulnerable members of our community against discrimination,” Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Finkelstein has now been held accountable and is facing prison time for his brazen scheme.”
Finkelstein’s criminal defense lawyer declined to comment.
Tom Stebbins, the executive director of legal reform group Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York, said, “The ADA is meant to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and ensure access for all, not to enrich a small group of profit-hungry lawyers.”
“I hope yesterday’s sentencing sends a clear message to other unscrupulous trial lawyers who are exploiting the ADA – a landmark civil rights law – for financial gain,” Stebbins said. “They aren’t above the law and they will be held accountable.”
With Post wires
