NYC lawyer COVID fund theft has ended with Bryan McKenna, a Manhattan attorney, being sentenced for diverting $4.4 million intended for pandemic protective gear to finance a personal romance. McKenna, 62, sobbed in court as he told a Manhattan Supreme Court judge that he had tried to live a “good life” before his actions caught up with him. “I’m just ashamed of myself. I tried to lead a good life,” he said, dabbing at tears with a tissue.
McKenna’s defense lawyer, Eric Franz, explained that financial pressures and a desire to assist his family, particularly a son struggling with mental health, led to his client’s decisions. “His focus was on, ‘I need to help my son,’” Franz said, highlighting McKenna’s attempts to secure medical care and appointments for his child.
Prosecutors described a far different picture. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Borle detailed that McKenna had siphoned funds for personal use and to support his romantic relationship with Duni Zenaye, then CEO of AstZen Group, a business consulting firm. The scheme involved Elkay Plastics, a packaging manufacturer and distributor, which had contracted AstZen Group to supply 500,000 boxes of medical-grade latex gloves as personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elkay deposited $4.45 million into an escrow account managed by McKenna.
The attorney had agreed in January 2021 to hold the funds in escrow until the gloves were delivered. By April, the account was empty, according to the indictment. McKenna used the money to support his personal life and his romantic connection with Zenaye, who was not charged in the case. Despite an opportunity in summer 2021 to return the funds, he continued to mislead investigators about the account’s status until November, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office records indicate.
McKenna’s legal troubles extend beyond the COVID fund theft. He resigned from the New York State Bar Association in 2023 and admitted to stealing over $260,000 from two other clients in Manhattan and Brooklyn in a separate case.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Althea Drysdale sentenced McKenna to two to six years in state prison. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg summarized the case, stating, “From real estate clients to a company purchasing hard-to-find medical gloves during the pandemic, Bryan McKenna repeatedly drained the accounts of those who looked to him for legal representation.”
The case underscores the lasting consequences of breaches of trust in the legal profession and highlights how COVID relief funds, meant to safeguard public health, became a target for personal gain.
