Cherry Hill Attorney Must Pay Back $1.2 Million in Laundered Cash

A Philadelphia resident who ran a Cherry Hill law firm will repay $1.2 million to his clients after being sentenced in Superior Court in Camden Friday on a plea deal for money laundering.

Michael Kwasnik, who has also been accused in an $8.5 million Ponzi scheme, admitted he misappropriated the money from multiple clients, dumping it into a personal account and other accounts with his law firm, Kwasnik, Kanowitz and Associates, which had offices in both Cherry Hill and Philadelphia.

About $1.1 million came from a 96-year-old woman’s trust account, which Kwasnik laundered via a trust account his firm maintained, using the money to pay other clients and pay the firm’s expenses.

The other piece came from an injury settlement Kwasnik’s firm handled for a husband and wife from Williamstown. Kwasnik admitted transferring a large portion of that settlement into a personal account, which was frozen following his arrest in Alabama in November 2011.

While the couple previously recovered about $212,000, they’re still owed about $112,000.

Kwasnik previously served five months in jail after being arrested; he will also have to serve five years of probation under the sentence imposed by Judge Irvin J. Snyder, which came after Kwasnik pleaded guilty to second- and third-degree money laundering charges.

On top of the money laundering charges, the state Attorney General’s office previously filed a civil lawsuit against Kwasnik, his father and others who allegedly ran an $8.5 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded 73 investors.

Criminal charges could still be filed in addition to the civil suit, authorities said, and Kwasnik’s plea and conviction on the money laundering charges won’t affect that case.

Kwasnik has also been suspended from practicing law in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, authorities said.