Ex-Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Is Disbarred After Conviction for Obstructing Federal Probe

A U.S. appeals court has affirmed the conviction of a former Brooklyn Supreme Court judge found guilty of obstructing a federal investigation—on the same day she was officially disbarred.

The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld Sylvia Ash’s conviction on counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements for her role in helping former Municipal Credit Union CEO Kam Wong conceal his scheme to embezzle nearly $10 million. 

That ruling came down as the Appellate Division, Second Department ordered Ash removed from the rolls.

“We are disappointed in the Circuit’s decision and agree with the arguments made by appellate counsel regarding the errors made by the District Court at trial,” Ash’s lawyer, Carrie Cohen of Morrison Foerster, said in a statement. 

At trial, federal prosecutors accused Ash, the former board chair of the MCU, of deleting incriminating text messages and emails at Wong’s instruction and later lying to investigators as

they probed Wong’s actions. 

During their case, the government told jurors she received special “perks” for helping Wong—including charging the credit union for overseas travel and living expenses—yet never reported the gifts and additional income to the state. 

She was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced in April to 15 months in prison by federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. Kaplan also ordered Ash to pay $80,000 in fines, undergo 2 years of supervised release, and serve at least 20 hours of community service per week during her release.

In their appeal, Ash’s defense team argued that the government violated her due process rights while gathering evidence during their investigation into MCU, and that any evidence gathered from her mobile phone should have been suppressed. They also argued jurors should not have heard evidence of her benefits while serving as a board member, and that the district court erred in premising her 15-month sentence on conduct she had been acquitted of.

Under sentencing guidelines, Ash had faced a range of 46 to 57 months behind bars, while her lawyers argued for 30 to 37 months.

“Not only did the district court make clear that Ash would have received the same sentence regardless,” Circuit Justices Pierre N. Leval, Denny Chin, and Eunice C. Lee wrote in their opinion, “but the sentence she did receive was significantly less than what even she argued the guidelines called for.”

Ash was admitted to the bar in 1985 and has served as a state court judge since 2006. She formally resigned from her post on March 15.