Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer sentenced in veterans charity thefts; lawyer accused in romance scams
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Lawyer gets prison time for stealing from veterans charity
Former Connecticut lawyer Kevin Creed was sentenced Monday to 3½ years in prison for stealing about $1.4 million from a veterans charity that he founded. Creed, 69, of Litchfield, Connecticut, had faced as many as 20 years in prison after his guilty plea to wire fraud. The charity, Friends of Fisher House Connecticut, was formed to build a home in West Haven, Connecticut, where veterans can stay with their families while undergoing treatment at a Veterans Affairs hospital. Creed is a military veteran. (Law.com, Law360, the Hartford Courant, Department of Justice press release)
Illinois lawyer is charged in romance, email scams
A Belgian and Lebanese national with an Illinois law license has been charged in a superseding indictment in a series of romance and spoofed email scams. Hassan Abbas, 62, is charged with wire fraud, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions. Abbas’ aim, prosecutors say, was to trick victims into wiring money to accounts that he controlled. In the romance scams, a fake online persona is created to develop online relationships with people who are tricked into sending money to the perpetrator. In the email compromise scams, legitimate email accounts are spoofed to get wire transactions sent to the perpetrator. (Department of Justice press release)
Orrick makes up pay cuts
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is making retroactive payments to make up for pay cuts implemented in April. “With today’s announcement, we are now rolling back all of our COVID measures,” a spokeswoman told Law360. The firm is also adding a temporary three-month program that allows associates and of counsels working as caregivers to work an 80% schedule at full pay. Orrick has also committed to matching last year’s bonus scale and will take “market developments” into consideration. (Law360, Above the Law)
