BOSTON, June 24, 2016—A Boston attorney already suspended from practice in Massachusetts was arraigned today on charges he stole the identity of a business partner and nearly $50,000 from a client, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

WASSEM AMIN (D.O.B. 2/27/85) was arraigned this morning in Boston Municipal Court on two dockets, one charging larceny over $250 by single scheme, forgery of a check, and uttering a false check, and the second charging identity fraud and forgery of a document. 

Assistant District Attorney Michele Granda, chief of the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit, recommended $50,000 bail on each docket, for a total of $100,000. Boston Municipal Court Judge Thomas Kaplanes ordered him held on a combined $70,000 cash bail. Kaplanes ordered that Amin wear a GPS monitor and stay away from the victims if he posts that amount.

According to prosecutors, Amin operated a law practice called Amin Legal Group at One Boston Place.  On February 11, a former law school classmate joined the firm, providing his personal information in order to be added to the firm’s corporate bank accounts.

Within the coming days and weeks, several inquiries were made to the victim’s credit, none of which were prompted by the victim.

Amin allegedly used the victim’s identity to open an account through Bank of America, listing the victim as the primary account holder and guarantor.  Two cards for the account were issued under Amin’s name.  The victim later received five American Express credit cards on which he was also listed as the primary account holder and guarantor; two of those cards were issued under Amin’s name.  The victim did not provide authorization for either account, prosecutors said.

The victim also received an Amazon credit card that was likewise issued under his identity without his knowledge or permission.  Records indicate that the application for the card came from an email address allegedly linked to Amin.  At the time the victim received the credit card in the mail on or around March 30, the account carried a balance of more than $1,700.

After resigning from the law firm and filing a complaint against Amin with the Board of Bar Overseers, the victim began receiving threatening text messages.  Some of the messages came from a phone number linked to Amin.

In his capacity has an attorney, Amin was hired by a client to assist in the launch of a business.  On April 28, the victim had $49,980 wired into a corporate bank account held by Amin’s firm, which were intended to be transferred into a bank account that Amin claimed he had set up in the name of the victim’s new company.  An investigation by Boston Police revealed that the money was instead transferred into Amin’s personal bank account and used for his own expenses, including trips to Foxwoods.  The victim made repeated demands that the money be returned.  Amin on May 31 issued a check to the victim from a bank account that had been closed two months earlier.  The victim’s bank account was frozen when the bad check was returned.

Amin was administratively suspended from practicing law in Massachusetts on June 1.

Amin was represented by Nate Dolcort-Silver He returns to court July 22.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.