NEWS

One lawyer's dark secret: Millions stolen from her elderly clients

Barbara Lieberman in state Superior Court in Atlantic County for a hearing. She has pleaded guilty to money laundering in a case that involved stealing money from 16 elderly victims

They were elderly and vulnerable. And they had homes and retirement savings ripe for the taking.

For Barbara Lieberman, the temptation was too great.

A well-known elder law attorney, she knew how easy it would be to help herself to her clients' assets. All it took was a few strokes of a pen on a legal document and the money was hers.

For a decade, Lieberman stole with impunity. But her dark secret wasn't entirely safe.

The relatives of one of her elderly clients, Helen Hugo, suspected all along that Lieberman was corrupt — and that she wasn't acting alone.

Yet when they tried to expose her, no one would listen to them.

Find out what happened — and how other insiders like Lieberman are using the legal system to hide their crimes. Read our multi-part investigative series, "Betrayal of Trust."