BOSTON, November 3, 2016—A Boston man pleaded guilty yesterday to posing as a lawyer in order to steal more than $30,000 from his victims, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DAVID KORACA (D.O.B. 12/1/67) AKA DAVID CORAZZA yesterday pleaded guilty to six counts of unauthorized practice of law, four counts of attempting to commit a crime, three counts of larceny over $250 by scheme, and single counts of larceny over $250, common law forgery, and common law uttering. At prosecutors’ request, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Mary Ames sentenced Koraca to a term of two to three years in state prison followed by three years of probation.

During his probation, Koraca is barred from representing himself as either an attorney or a military veteran and from using any alias. He must also pay restitution to his victims, obtain legitimate employment, remain drug- and alcohol-free subject to random testing, attend Alcoholics Anonymous, and undergo a mental health evaluation and any treatment deemed necessary.  If after two years of probation he is in good standing with the Department of Probation and has paid restitution in full, Koraca may petition to end his probation early.

“This was a case of outright deception,” Conley said. “The defendant deliberately held himself out as an officer of the court and swindled the people who trusted him.”

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Michele Granda, chief of the DA’s Special Prosecutions Unit, would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that Koraca, using the alias David Corazza, misrepresented himself as an attorney and opened a law office with rented space at One International Place in Boston’s Financial District and virtual offices in New York and London. Koraca, however, never graduated from law school and was not authorized to practice law in Massachusetts or elsewhere, the evidence would have proved.

Koraca also falsely presented himself as a graduate of Harvard Law School, a childhood friend of Mark Walhberg who served as the actor’s personal attorney, a captain of the U.S. Army and Silver Star recipient, and a specialist in legal cases involving the recovery of artwork stolen by the Nazi regime, Granda said.

In February of 2015, Koraca offered to help a fellow classmate at the Harvard University School of Continuing Education with her credit problems. However, rather than negotiating down the victim’s debts as agreed, Koraca used one of the victim’s credit cards to make purchases totaling more than $1,000 and forged her digital signature in an attempt to use the card to pay rent for his office.

In May 2015, Koraca hired a Harvard Extension School classmate as an employee of his financial services company, Corazza Global. After joining the company, the woman enlisted Koraca’s legal help in divorce proceedings and paid him $6,900 in fees.  Koraca, however, performed no work on her behalf.

The victim wired Koraca a $5,000 loan to help pay rent for the company’s office space, which Koraca never repaid. The victim later discovered that her paychecks from the company had bounced and that Koraca had charged more than $19,600 to her accounts without her knowledge or consent. Those expenses included a gym membership, office rent, and extended stays at the Harvard Club in New York, prosecutors said.

Another victim performed work in 2015 as a legal intern for Koraca’s law office, unaware that Koraca was not allowed to practice law. The victim left the company after Koraca refused to pay him for the billable legal services he performed.

Koraca additionally attempted to collect payment from other victims for legal services that he was not authorized to perform.

Jassie Senwah was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Koraca was represented by Stephen Neyman.

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