White-Collar Crime

Solo Lawyer & Office Manager Wife Accused of Stealing $2M From Guardianship Clients

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A 71-year-old solo practitioner in Texas and his 70-year-old office manager and wife are facing a 26-count federal indictment for allegedly stealing more than $2 million from the accounts of disabled military veterans for whom he served as a guardian.

Joe Phillips, who practices in Houston, and his wife, Dorothy, are charged with conspiracy, tax fraud, misappropriation by a fiduciary and making materially false statements to a federal agency, reports KHOU.

They allegedly transferred money from veterans’ accounts for their own personal use over a six-year period beginning in 2003, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Phillips formerly worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Neither article includes any comment from the defendants.

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