Benjamin Brafman is an American criminal defense attorney, the founder of the Manhattan-based firmBrafman & Associates, P.C.. Brafman is known for representing many high-profile defendants, including celebrities, accused Mafia members, and political figures.
Brafman slowly established his reputation as a celebrity lawyer through a series of high-profile cases.
Sean "P. Diddy" Combs trial
Brafman’s profile rose following the acquittal of client Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, on 1999 illegal weapons and bribery charges. The criminal charges stemmed from a nightclub brawl, while accompanied by then-girlfriend Jennifer Lopez, and Combs's usual entourage, and was witnessed by over 100 other people. Numerous prosecution witnesses testified to Combs's culpability; a not guilty verdict was decreed on all charges.
Plaxico Burress shooting
On November 30, 2008, Brafman was hired to represent NFL star Plaxico Burress who, on August 3, 2009, was indicted on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of reckless endangerment. Burress pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
In 2011, Brafman represented former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn in a sexual assault case involving a member of the housekeeping staff of an upscale New York City hotel. Brafman and Strauss-Kahn's other lawyer, William W. Taylor, III, of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, gained first a recommendation that charges be dropped from New York County District AttorneyCyrus Vance, and then charges dropped by New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus. Brafman discussed his defense of Strauss-Kahn on Charlie Rose in February, 2012.
In 2014 and 2015, Brafman represented Martin Wolmark of the Epstein-Wolmark gang, an outfit that had plotted the kidnap and torture of Jewish husbands to coerce them into granting their wives gets. Wolmark pled guilty to the charges, and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Martin Shkreli
In early 2016, Martin Shkreli retained Brafman to defend him. In a 2017 jury trial, Shkreli was found guilty on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Harvey Weinstein
Former film producer Harvey Weinstein hired Brafman in 2017, after numerous sexual abuse allegations against him from prominent members of Hollywood resulted in charges and a criminal trial. Brafman represented Weinstein at his arraignment on May 25, 2018 in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of first-degree rape and third-degree rape in one case, and first-degree criminal sex act in another case. Brafman said in an interview: "Mr. Weinstein did not invent the casting couch in Hollywood. Bad behavior is not on trial in this case." In January 2019, Brafman and Weinstein issued a joint statement officially parting ways. Weinstein would subsequently get convicted on several charges, and sentenced to years in prison. He currently is being held at the Rikers Island prison.
Personal life
Brafman's family fled from Europe to Cuba on their way to the United States just before World War II. Brafman is a practicing Orthodox Jew. His wife Lynda is a librarian. The Brafmans lived in a "cramped Forest Hills apartment" early in their marriage and, by 1998, lived in an "enormous Long Island brick mansion." Brafman has lived in the Five Towns area of western Long Island since 1981. The couple has two grown children, Jennifer and David, and a number of grandchildren. His daughter lives in the Five Towns area, close to Brafman, and his son lives in Israel, where Brafman travels often. Brafman's older brother, Aaron, was an Orthodox rabbi in Far Rockaway. Brafman is a self-described "short Jewish guy," standing five feet, six inches tall.
