Medical Office Embezzler Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison

Sometimes, when you’re about to be sentenced for an elaborate embezzlement/Ponzi scheme, the judge will ask a rhetorical question.  In the case of common sense vs. Dominic J. Iorio, U.S. District Judge Faith S. Hochberg’s rhetorical question was, “How did you think this was going to end?"

My advice to you, if you’re in that situation where you’re about to be sent to prison for two years for embezzling $950,000 from a Hackensack medical practice, is to not answer.  No one expects you to answer.  No answer, really, is going to make you look good or reverse the inevitable.

I didn’t get a chance to share this with Iorio.

“I just got caught up in the moment,” Iorio said.

And sure, that can happen.  When you’re pulling in money hand over fist in an elaborate con game whereby you funnel checks that should go to the medical practice into your own personal bank accounts – not to mention accounts opened up in the names of fictitious collection agencies – reason may leave you.  But no one expects you to admit to that.  You’ve been caught.  You look foolish.  Just…serve your time.

Iorio’s court-appointed lawyer tried to mitigate the offense in the hopes of softening the sentence.  “This is his one huge mistake,” he explained.  And he’s right: $950,000 is huge.

Iorio wasn’t charged with embezzlement under a plea agreement with the government, although he did acknowledge the crime. Instead, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion.

Under sentencing guidelines, he could have faced up to 30 months and a $250,000 fine. Hochberg waived the fine so that he could continue paying restitution.

In wrapping up the case, Hochberg told Iorio he’d caused a lot of hurt to his family and employers. "It’s hard to understand what was going through your mind," she said. "You’re not going to live a fancy lifestyle for a very long time. It certainly didn’t do you any good when you had it." 

That, too, was a rhetorical inquiry.