(CN) - A New York appellate division disbarred disgraced Park Avenue attorney Marc S. Dreier, who pleaded guilty in May to operating a scheme to bilk hedge funds and other investors of $700 million.
Dreier has been an attorney in New York for 33 years and is the founder of Dreier LLP, a 250-attorney law firm headquartered in Manhattan.
Last year, the SEC accused him of operating an elaborate scheme to rip off investors. Dreier pleaded guilty in May of this year to all eight charges in the indictment against him, including conspiracy, money laundering and wire fraud.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, significantly less than the 145 years sought by the government.
The Manhattan-based First Appellate Division said Dreier's crimes were automatic grounds for disbarment.
"As respondent's criminal offenses, if committed under New York law, would constitute felonies, they are a proper predicate for automatic disbarment," the justices ruled.
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