Sally G. Blinken

Significant Prosecutions Include:

• Investigation into the former Executive Director of an affordable housing provider in the South Bronx for misappropriation and diversion of charitable funds which led to the replacement of the Board of Directors and securing $36 million in assistance to restore and renovate housing for residents of the entities’ Section 8 housing developments;
• Joint civil and criminal investigation and civil litigation involving the diversion of and misappropriation of charitable funds by the founder of two nursing homes in Brooklyn;
• Investigation into the Co-Executive Directors of a non-profit organization in Brooklyn offering transitional housing, health, and social services to homeless persons living with HIV/AIDS, which lead to a recovery of $800,000 in charitable funds diverted to the Co-Executive Directors’ competing for-profit businesses;
• Investigation into a 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund which led to a monetary recovery and distribution of $3.2 million in diverted funds to Mt. Sinai’s WTC Medical Monitoring Program and $3.3 million to the families of the rescue workers;
• Multi-county investigation of bribery complaints against wind energy companies which led to the creation of a multi-agency task force charged with monitoring wind companies’ compliance with a code of conduct requiring heightened transparency to prevent conflicts of interest between elected officials and wind companies operating in New York State;
• “Pay-to-Play” pension fraud investigation of attorneys/professionals receiving pension benefits from the New York State Pension Fund;
• Joint civil and criminal investigation of nursing home resulting in the indictment and conviction of the administrator, the corporation, and nine employees, in connection with the death of a 72-year-old ventilator-dependent resident and a $28 million civil recovery to provide reforms in the delivery of care for the nursing home’s residents after years of staf%ng cuts and neglect, and the return of $10 million to Medicaid; and
• Co-chair of the Nursing Home Task Force: successfully launched over ten investigations across the state with the goal of holding nursing homeowners civilly and criminally liable for the illegal acts of its high managerial employees and recurring incidents of patient abuse by nursing staff.

Significant Cases Include:

• Federal litigation involving seizure of art as collateral for multi-million dollar loan agreement;
• Federal litigation involving breach of contract and trademark infringement claims involving the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine;
• Defended against a 37 multi-state attorneys general investigation of a consumer product internet marketer;
• Federal litigation involving the misrepresentation of credentials to obtain employment;
• Litigated sixteen separate proceedings in Surrogate’s Court arising out of the probate of the Estate of Arthur M. Sackler resulting in a $100 million settlement for the client;
• Bench trial in New York Surrogate’s Court involving the ownership of a multi-million real estate company;
• Second Circuit Appeal concerning the ownership of several Max Beckmann paintings;
• Sale and dissolution involving the distribution of major real estate holdings to Columbia University; and
• Sale and dissolution of family foundation with majority of proceeds distributed to the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, “The Breman,” a cultural center in Atlanta dedicated to Jewish history, culture, and arts with special emphasis on Georgia and the Holocaust.