On May 6, 2013, Sampson was arrested and charged with two counts of embezzlement, five counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements. The charges stemmed from an investigation over the sale of foreclosed properties in Brooklyn, where Sampson was alleged to have stolen over $400,000 while acting as a court-appointed referee. Sampson pleaded not guilty to the embezzlement charges on May 7, and his bail was set at $250,000. Trial Sampson's trial began on June 22, 2015. By the time of the trial, the counts of embezzlement had been dropped. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Seifan called Sampson "a lawyer and a lawmaker who believed he was above the law" and "committed new crimes to cover up the old ones." The court heard testimony from real estate broker Edul Ahmad, who was arrested for mortgage fraud in 2011 and agreed to secretly tape Sampson for the FBI. Ahmad testified that he loaned $188,500 to Sampson, who had yet to repay escrow funds he allegedly embezzled while serving as a referee in 1998 and 2002; Ahmad was said to have solicited political favors when Sampson did not pay the money back. Ahmad testified that in 2011, following his agreement to cooperate with the federal government, he told Sampson that a check register that could possibly expose the loan and the escrow embezzlement was subpoenaed. The two then met in person, with Sampson allegedly telling Ahmad to lie about the document and then taking it with him. A month prior to becoming an informant, Ahmad allegedly received a visit from Sampson, who said that "if he ever found out who the cooperators [in the federal probe] were, he would take them out." Sampson shook his head in court when Ahmad expressed fear for his life at that point. Ahmad claimed that during the same visit, Sampson, who had a mole in the office of then-U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, went on a tangent regarding the federal prosecutors who "[were] on a witch hunt to prosecute black politicians." Nathaniel Akerman, Sampson's attorney, contended that his client was a victim of entrapment. On July 24, 2015, Sampson was found guilty on three of the nine charges and was immediately removed from office. He was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice and two charges of making false statements to federal agents. He was acquitted of the six other charges. On January 18, 2017, Sampson was sentenced to five years in prison.

On May 6, 2013, Sampson was arrested and charged with two counts of embezzlement, five counts of obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements. The charges stemmed from an investigation over the sale of foreclosed properties in Brooklyn, where Sampson was alleged to have stolen over $400,000 while acting as a court-appointed referee. Sampson pleaded not guilty to the embezzlement charges on May 7, and his bail was set at $250,000. Trial Sampson's trial began on June 22, 2015. By the time of the trial, the counts of embezzlement had been dropped. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Seifan called Sampson "a lawyer and a lawmaker who believed he was above the law" and "committed new crimes to cover up the old ones." The court heard testimony from real estate broker Edul Ahmad, who was arrested for mortgage fraud in 2011 and agreed to secretly tape Sampson for the FBI. Ahmad testified that he loaned $188,500 to Sampson, who had yet to repay escrow funds he allegedly embezzled while serving as a referee in 1998 and 2002; Ahmad was said to have solicited political favors when Sampson did not pay the money back. Ahmad testified that in 2011, following his agreement to cooperate with the federal government, he told Sampson that a check register that could possibly expose the loan and the escrow embezzlement was subpoenaed. The two then met in person, with Sampson allegedly telling Ahmad to lie about the document and then taking it with him. A month prior to becoming an informant, Ahmad allegedly received a visit from Sampson, who said that "if he ever found out who the cooperators [in the federal probe] were, he would take them out." Sampson shook his head in court when Ahmad expressed fear for his life at that point. Ahmad claimed that during the same visit, Sampson, who had a mole in the office of then-U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, went on a tangent regarding the federal prosecutors who "[were] on a witch hunt to prosecute black politicians." Nathaniel Akerman, Sampson's attorney, contended that his client was a victim of entrapment. On July 24, 2015, Sampson was found guilty on three of the nine charges and was immediately removed from office. He was convicted of one count of obstruction of justice and two charges of making false statements to federal agents. He was acquitted of the six other charges. On January 18, 2017, Sampson was sentenced to five years in prison.