BURRILLVILLE – An attorney who served as solicitor for the town of Burrillville for several years has been disbarred from practicing law in Rhode Island after pleading guilty to charges of theft and pension fraud.
Oleg Nikolyszyn resigned from the position in Burrillville in 2016 following the allegations, and was suspended from his practice. He entered a guilty plea earlier this month.
Nikolyszyn served as the attorney for a man who had earned a pension from the city of Providence and the Laborer’s International Union of North America. In 2000, he began receiving monthly payments on the man’s behalf. His client later moved to Poland, and then died in 2003.
From the man’s death until 2015, Nikolyszyn continued receiving pension checks on his behalf, collecting $173,597 from the Providence Pension Fund and $60,989 from LIUNA. According to charges filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, Nikolyszyn deposited the funds in a joint account he held with the deceased, and then transferred the money to his personal account.
Nikolyszyn had served as assistant solicitor and then solicitor for the town. On Monday, Jan. 6, he filed an affidavit with the disciplinary board of the Rhode Island Supreme Court to consent to disbarment.
The former attorney could have faced a sentence of up to 45 years in jail and a maximum $750,000 fine for the charges, if the case were to go to trial. According to a plea agreement announced in November, Nikolyszyn instead will face no more than two years in prison.
