Boston Lawyer Sent to Prison for Embezzling $2M to Fuel Gambling Addiction

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) announced that disbarred Boston lawyer, Benjamin Tariri, has been sentenced to 3-5 years in state prison for embezzling nearly $2 million in funds to fuel his gambling addiction.

In addition to his prison sentence, Tariri was ordered to repay $575,000 in restitution and seek treatment for his gambling addiction.

Tariri was an attorney with a general practice in Boston. According to the AGO, he developed a gambling addiction and began embezzling money from clients to sustain his addiction and lifestyle. Several clients and attorneys complained to the Board of Bar Overseers (BBO), which conducted an investigation that ultimately led to Tariri’s disbarment in 2023. 

Last week, a Suffolk Superior Court jury found Tariri guilty on six counts of Fiduciary Embezzlement, one count of Larceny over $250 from a Person over 60, two counts of Larceny over $1,200, and five counts of Attempted Obstruction of BBO proceedings. He received his sentence on Thursday.

Lawyer’s Last Client Was Himself

Despite being disbarred in 2023, Tariri had one more client, himself. However, his rambling defense was unsuccessful. He hinted that he was the victim of a widespread conspiracy.

At one point, the Boston Globe reported, he drew an image of himself in a box, surrounded by a constellation of dots. The box, he said, was the legal system trapping him, and the dots were all the people out to get him.

“This is a psychological warfare that they’ve employed for years and years,” said the 68-year-old, waving his hand in a gesture that seemed to reference everyone within the court.

At another point, he claimed, “I may have broken rules, but I didn’t break the law. I didn’t break criminal law.”

Prosecutors disagreed. They said Tariri had his clients, predominantly fellow Iranian immigrants, deposit money into Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTAs). IOLTAs are bank accounts that lawyers can use to hold clients’ money for specific purposes. One client, for instance, deposited money he intended to use to close on a house.

Tariri used the accounts “like his own ATM.” He spent much of the funds buying lottery tickets, said prosecutors. He also began using some money to pay back other clients to cover his previous embezzlement.

His cover-up extended to showing the BBO misleading documents, which led to obstruction of justice charges.

“If you go to the swamp, you understand it,“ Tariri told the jury. ”But you may become part of the swamp.”

Lawyers Abusing Position of Trust

In a similar case earlier this month, a lawyer in Australia was accused of stealing over $10 million in client funds to fuel his gambling habit. An analysis of his betting accounts found he was placing bets between $2,000 and $5,000 at least 30 times a day for nearly two years.

In Tariri’s case, the gambling was less extreme, but Judge Sarah G. Kim said the crimes were worsened by the fact that he was taking advantage of a vulnerable community.

When handing down her verdict, she stated, “As an attorney, you gained the trust and the confidence of an immigrant community. They were especially vulnerable. You abused your clients’ trust.”

Lawmakers in Massachusetts have said the gambling industry needs widespread reform. A bill that aims to tackle addictive forms of betting is advancing through committees in the state’s Senate, but the legislation would not have prevented Tariri’s purchase of lottery tickets.