Former CFO Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $1.5 Million from Morristown Law Firm

Former CFO of Morristown Law Firm Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $1.5 Million

John Dunlea, the former Chief Financial Officer of a major Morristown law firm, has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $1.5 million from the firm and evading taxes, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

Dunlea, 61, admitted to two counts of second-degree theft by deception and five counts of third-degree failure to pay taxes before New Jersey Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Taylor in Morris County.

The former CFO of McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, a national law firm based in New Jersey, confessed to misappropriating $1,538,221 by paying himself unauthorized excess compensation and using the firm’s funds for personal expenses.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin stated that Dunlea gave himself a “staggering, unauthorized, and illegal seven-figure pay raise” and used the firm’s money for personal travel, hotels, and dining without permission.

As part of a plea agreement, the state will recommend a five-year prison sentence for Dunlea and restitution to both the law firm and the state Division of Taxation.

The investigation was conducted by the Division of Criminal Justice’s Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions, with assistance from the New Jersey Division of Taxation-Office of Criminal Investigations.

McElroy Deutsch has offices in Morristown, Newark, Tinton Falls, and several other cities across multiple states.