Defrauded builder claims convicted lawyer enjoys lavish lifestyle despite restitution order
A Wisconsin homebuilder defrauded by its former CEO claims a lawyer convicted in connection with the $20 million scheme is living a lavish lifestyle and moving assets to avoid paying remaining restitution.
Bielinski Brothers Builders is seeking dismissal of a bankruptcy action filed by the lawyer, Michael Gral, formerly a partner with Michael Best & Friedrich, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Gral served less than two years in prison for his role in the fraud. In a Feb. 26 filing (PDF), the company says at the very least the bankruptcy should be suspended while a state court action plays out.
Gral has paid more than $2 million in restitution but still owes “another couple of million or so,” according to the Journal Sentinel.
Gral has a luxury home in Wisconsin and a condo at the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne in Miami, according to the article. Court documents allege Gral engaged in bad faith by moving assets in intertwined legal entities and siphoning value from the holdings.
Gral regained his law license in a 2010 disciplinary opinion that said his wrongdoing in the fraud case consisted of failing to check whether Bielinski Brothers was aware that its then CEO, Robert Brownell, had taken company funds for real-estate transactions with Gral.
Gral’s lawyer, Brad Hoeschen, told the Journal Sentinel that Belienski Brothers’ recent pleadings are overly accusatory, and the legal entities targeted in court fiilngs are “a garden variety set of real-estate companies.” Hoeschen said Gral had trouble making restitution payments after the recession affected his real-estate business.
“Bielinski Brothers want the court to believe it’s all cloak and dagger,” Hoeschen said. “They just don’t understand the real estate business.”
