New York Lawyer Convicted of Impersonating NYU Professor

Manhattan lawyer Raphael Golb has been convicted of 30 counts of identity theft and impersonating a law professor in a bizarre case that we previously discussed, Golb assumed the identity of the rival of his father, Norman Golb (right), and began sending out false emails under the name of NYU Professor Lawrence Schiffman (left).

Golb, 49, was defending his father who is a leading expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls and University of Chicago professor. In the emails, Golb had Schiffman confessing to plagiarism.

One email stated “That plagiarism stuff that I was accused of a long time ago, I did do it but I hope you’ll cover for me.”

For the earlier story, click here and here.

Golb promised to appeal and insists that setting up accounts in Schiffman’s name and those of other academic critics was merely a parody. His lawyer, Ronald Kuby insisted that the verdict “made hurting somebody’s feelings a criminal act.” He insisted that hurting feelings is as natural in New York as a crowded subway train: “In New York, hurting people’s feelings or being annoying is not a crime. We call that Monday.”

Golb now faces as much as four years in prison. He could also face tort liability for defamation and, in some jurisdictions, false light or privacy violations.

Source: here
Jonathan Turley