Summary
The New York Appellate Division, Third Department, granted a motion by the Attorney Grievance Committee to disbar attorney Seth Gillman following his federal felony conviction for health care fraud. While the court determined the federal statute was not essentially similar to a New York felony that would automatically strike him from the roll, it concluded the conviction constituted a 'serious crime' involving fraud, warranting immediate disbarment to protect the public and maintain professional integrity.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether a federal felony conviction for health‑care fraud is essentially similar to New York Penal Law §177.20 for purposes of striking an attorney’s name from the roll.
- Whether the federal conviction constitutes a "serious crime" under Judiciary Law §90(4)(d) warranting disbarment.
- What discipline, if any, is appropriate.
Holdings
- The court held that 18 U.S.C. §1347 is not essentially similar to Penal Law §177.20 and therefore denied the portion of the motion seeking to strike the attorney’s name on that basis.
- The court held that the conviction satisfies the definition of a serious crime because the statute contains a material element of fraud or misrepresentation.
- The court granted the Attorney Grievance Committee’s motion and disbarred the respondent, striking his name from the roll of attorneys effective immediately.
Key quotations
“We grant AGC's motion and disbar respondent, effective immediately.”
Factual background
Seth Gillman, admitted to the New York bar in 1995, pleaded guilty in 2016 to a federal felony health‑care fraud (18 U.S.C. §1347) and was sentenced in 2017 to incarceration and restitution. The Illinois Supreme Court accepted his disciplinary resignation. The Attorney Grievance Committee sought his disbarment in New York.