Ex-BigLaw Partner's Jail Time in $370K Client Theft Case Will Let Him Work and Make Restitution
A former partner of Quarles & Brady was sentenced to five years of probation today following his December conviction in a $370,000 client theft case.
As a condition of his probation, Jeffrey Elverman, 52, will spend seven months in jail, but will be allowed out on 72 hours of work release per week so that he can earn money at a Chicago tax firm to pay restitution to his elderly victim, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Proof & Hearsay blog.
He is required to pay her $325,000 restitution and faces a five-year jail sentence in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court case if he fails to do so, according to the article.
Circuit Judge Jeffrey Conen said Elverman deserved more jail time for the crime, but that wouldn’t be in the best interest of the 94-year-old victim, Dorothy Phinney.
“The forefront of this case is restitution,” the judge said. “We want Ms. Phinney to be made whole—as quickly as possible.”
Elverman must pay her $1,400 per month in 2012, $2,000 per month in 2013 and $3,000 per month in 2014.
His law license status is listed as suspended on the Wisconsin State Bar website.
A civil suit concerning the theft, which took place in 2003 and 2004 but wasn’t discovered until a guardian for Phinney was appointed in 2008, is still pending.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Theft Trial of Ex-Quarles & Brady Partner Begins re $370K in Checks From Elderly Client”
ABAJournal.com: “Former BigLaw Partner Is Convicted of Stealing from Elderly Client”
