Stealing the Locust home of a dead client and ripping off live ones to the tune of half a million dollars got a disbarred Red Bank lawyer a decade in jail Monday, NJ.com reports.
Alexander Iler, 39, of Atlantic Highlands, faced 12 years for those frauds, to which he pleaded guilty in August.
His lawyer said Iler had been “out of control” with a gambling addiction when the crimes were committed.
From NJ.com:
As part of a plea agreement, Alexander Iler, 39, of Atlantic Highlands, was also ordered to pay more than $530,000 in a civil judgment and is banned from New Jersey casinos.
“The reality is he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients,” Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Fried said in court.
During the proceeding, Iler stood in the jury box with his hands shackled to his waist. He told the judge his family was been destroyed and that over the past year he only held his 7-year-old child for two hours and his 3-year-old child for 90 minutes.
“My entire life that I had before this is gone, and probably rightfully so,” Iler said.
However, Iler also said that checking into a gambling program before his arrest was a wake up call.
“I needed to be arrested,” Iler said. “I was headed straight for suicide or something terrible.”
Iler appeared to show remorse toward the victims and vowed to rebuild his life and become a productive member of society upon his release.
“I have a deep desire to repay my victims,” Iler said. “I’m deeply and terribly sorry for what I’ve done.”
Defense attorney Dean Schneider told Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Francis Vernoia that Iler had a gambling addiction that was “out of control” during the one-year period, from July 2011 to July 2012, when the crimes occurred.
Schneider said Iler was cooperative with the prosecutor’s office, helping them identify victims.
“He was legitimately concerned about these victims,” Schneider said.
During the proceeding, Vernoia said that Iler was a criminal attorney and knew what he was doing.
“He cooperated when the house of cards was collapsing around him,” Vernoia said.
