Story by Ethan
On January 22nd, 2026, the arrest of Marco Materassi, age 59, was announced by Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. Marco Materassi was charged with first-degree Scheme to Defraud as an E felony and four counts of third-degree Grand Larceny as a D felony. The arrest and charges against Marco Materassi were a result of an investigation handled by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, during 2024 and 2025 several complaints were filed with them alleging that Marco Materassi unlawfully withheld funds in real estate transactions. In another transaction where the defendant represented the seller of a property, he allegedly failed to return funds to a buyer. These claims led to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office starting an investigation that uncovered Marco Materassi’s real estate activity throughout several transactions between November 2023 and January 2024. The defendant allegedly withheld approximately $133,950 in property down payments from three of his clients and one opposing real estate party. These funds were deposited through wiring and checks into Marco Materassi’s law firm bank account, Materassi Legal P.C., with the listed address of 55 Northern Boulevard in Great Neck, New York. Marco Materassi was the only authorized signatory of the bank account.
On November 15th, 2023, one complainant hired Marco Materassi to represent her in the sale of her house in the Bronx, New York. The buyer wired $25,000 into the Materassi Legal P.C. bank account that was supposed to be held in escrow until the client moved out of the property. The buyer also gave the defendant $6,200 at closing, $5,000 of which was meant to be held in escrow, however Marco Materassi allegedly failed to provide the $30,000 from the escrow account.
In December 2023 Marco Materassi was hired by another one of the complainants to represent her in the sale of her house in the Bronx, New York. The buyer wired $25,000 into the Materassi Legal P.C. bank account that was supposed to be held in escrow until the client moved out of the property. Prior to the closing Marco Materassi allegedly informed the client that she would be represented by another law firm as his would be, “assumed by another law firm or cease to exist,”. On April 23rd, 2024, the complainant went to the scheduled closing to find the defendant not present and not having provided the buyer’s down payment funds held in the escrow account.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Marco Materassi are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
