Ex-Lawyer Gets 30 Months for Stealing $250K from Clients
Some 30 friends and family members attended a Tuesday sentencing hearing for a former Billings, Mont., attorney, supporting the man they knew as a devoted family man and warmhearted community volunteer.
But Pierre “Pete” Bacheller, 54, also stole more than $250,000 from clients, including a disabled woman for whom he was a guardian. And giving him the probationary sentence he sought would be “one lawyer taking care of another lawyer,” U.S. District Judge Judge John Coughenour said. He sentenced Bacheller, who has been disbarred and apologized in court, to 30 months in prison, reports the Billings Gazette.
Coughenour, who ordinarily sits in Seattle, and a special federal prosecutor from Spokane, Wash., were brought in to handle the case because Bacheller is a well-known lawyer and his ex-wife is a court reporter for Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull.
“Bacheller pleaded guilty in March to one count of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud for stealing from clients,” the newspaper writes. “Most of the money went to the operation of his law practice, payments on his personal credit card and pension account and payments to another client.”
He was ordered to pay restitution of $258,873, plus another $82,741 in interest.
Since being disbarred, he has been working as a welder.
Updated at 12:50 p.m. Aug. 11 to indicate that Cebull’s court reporter is Bacheller’s ex-wife.
