Newark Legal-Aid Charity Scammed Inmates, N.J. Says
August 31, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
The State of New Jersey is suing a Newark legal-aid organization regulators say collected fees from prison and jail inmates but did no work on their behalf, according to The Record.
The lawsuit, filed last week by the attorney general’s office and its Division of Consumer Affairs, names Bruce Buccolo, executive director of the Project Freedom Fund, and Mark Bendet, a disbarred lawyer who served four years in prison for several criminal schemes.
Citing 18 complaints from the fund’s clients, the lawsuit says the nonprofit solicited convicts through advertisements and collected nonrefundable $350 consultation fees from inmates or their families, but “generally performed no work for them” and instead pocketed the money.
Mr. Buccolo denied the allegations. He said the organization does not represent clients in court but has staff lawyers who review cases and recommend legal strategies, and that “not one dollar” of its money has gone to his personal use.
