January 12, 2024
BILL OXFORD/UNSPLASH
Corey Kolcharno, 49, will spend 4 to 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of promoting prostitution. The former Lackawanna County defense attorney solicited sex and nude photos from vulnerable clients, prosecutors said.
A former defense attorney in Northeastern Pennsylvania was sentenced Thursday to 4 to 23 months in prison for soliciting sex from multiple clients of his, the state attorney general's office announced.
Corey Kolcharno, 49, pleaded guilty in October to four felony counts of promoting prostitution. He was arrested in August 2022 following an investigation into allegations from multiple women who said Kolcharno had paid them — or had given them free legal services — in exchange for sex and nude photos, prosecutors said.
Between 2018-2022, Kolcharno repeatedly preyed on clients he knew were vulnerable, including those who struggled with addiction and had histories of sexual abuse, authorities said.
"The defendant's behavior in these cases was despicable," Attorney General Michelle Henry said. "He preyed on clients and their relatives who had fallen on hard times and exploited their vulnerabilities for his own gratification."
Four women, all former clients, told investigators that Kolcharno made advancements on them as they navigated difficult legal circumstances — often involving financial hardship, prosecutors said.
In one instance, Kolcharno offered to represent a masseuse in a criminal case to help her get her charges reduced, police said. Kolcharno already had known the woman and allegedly had been visiting her at her establishment to pay for sexual services over the previous year.
When Kolcharno began handling the woman's case, he didn't bill her, but instead invited her to a residence where he paid her $300 to have sex with him and take nude photos of her, authorities said.
Another woman told investigators Kolcharno had agreed to represent her brother, who was facing criminal charges and struggled with drug addiction. Kolcharno allegedly offered to take the man's case and pay for the cost of his addiction treatment, but then began asking the woman for nude photos and used underwear. He later paid the woman for sex on two occasions, after which she refused to continue the arrangement, prosecutors said.
When investigators reviewed evidence from Kolcharno's cell phone, they allegedly found hundreds of nude or sexually explicit images of his female clients.
Kolcharno began practicing law in 2001 and served as an assistant district attorney in Lackawanna County from 2005 to 2011. He later joined the law firm Fannuci and Kolcharno in Blakely, where he worked when the alleged crimes took place.
As part of the plea agreement, Kolcharno was required to surrender his law license and must also serve two years of probation. The investigation was jointly led by Pennsylvania State Police and the attorney general's office.
