A former attorney has been charged with two third-degree crimes after allegedly stealing $71,000 from a client who had supplied the money for a home sale, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced on Friday.

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Bert Lundberg, a 56-year-old Freehold resident who based his law practice in Old Bridge, has been charged with third-degree misapplication of entrusted property and third-degree failure to make required disposition of property received, the office announced.

The case was referred to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office from the Office of Attorney Ethics, which is the investigative arm of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Authorities say the money had been given to Lundberg by homebuyers to be held in his attorney trust account. After the house sale closed last November, Lundberg never forwarded the money to the homeowners, they allege.

Lundberg, who was admitted to the New Jersey State Bar in 1991, voluntarily consented to disbarment in March after being investigated by the Office of Attorney Ethics.

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Michael Sol Warren may be reached at [email protected].

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