Stealing $630K from DC firm results in 18-month sentence for former finance chief

A former business and finance director for a small law firm in the nation’s capital was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison and ordered to repay $730,000 he embezzled. Of that amount, $630,000 came from Trister Ross Schadler & Gold and another $100,000 was taken from an affilated…

Jun 19, 2013 1:47 PM CDT

Veteran defense lawyer convicted in conspiracy to bribe witness not to testify against client

A veteran Rhode Island defense lawyer has been convicted in a claimed conspiracy to bribe a witness not to testify in a criminal case. After 13 hours of deliberation, a Providence jury found Gerard Donley guilty on Thursday of bribery, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He testified that money he…

Jun 14, 2013 2:15 PM CDT

Ex-judge faces case over speeding-ticket switch that put lawmaker and wife in jail

A 10-year-old speeding ticket continues to make trouble for high-profile individuals in the United Kingdom. The latest target of criminal charges is a former judge, Constance Briscoe. The well-known barrister is facing two counts of intending to pervert the course of public justice. She is accused of providing inaccurate information…

Jun 14, 2013 11:45 AM CDT

Lawyer takes plea in ex-police officer’s $4.7M real estate investment swindle

A New York City lawyer has admitted he participated in a conspiracy with a retired city police sergeant to entice investors to put $4.7 million into a plan to develop a condominium project in the Dominican Republic–a project that doesn’t exist. Authorities said attorney Edward Adams and James Monahan almost…

Jun 13, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

11th Circuit: Money in Rothstein law firm accounts can’t be forfeited to feds

In a decision that may benefit ordinary creditors of a defunct Florida law firm and cost those swindled by its imprisoned former managing partner, Scott Rothstein, a federal appeals court has ruled that funds in Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bank accounts are not subject to forfeiture by the feds. That means…

Jun 12, 2013 9:25 PM CDT

3rd lawyer is federally indicted, accused of aiding developer in claimed real estate loan fraud

A third lawyer was federally indicted last week for allegedly aiding Arkansas real estate developer Brandon Barber in a claimed series of schemes in which Barber is accused of obtaining $200 million in loans, diverting some of the money to participants at closing and then hiding his assets in a…

Jun 10, 2013 11:00 PM CDT

Son and lawyer of elderly heiress Brooke Astor are both headed to prison over $60M fraud

The son of heiress Brooke Astor and her former lawyer have exhausted their appeals in a $60 million fraud case concerning her estate and are headed to prison. The New York Daily News reports that state’s highest appellate court on Friday denied appeals by Anthony Marshall, the 88-year-old son of…

Jun 10, 2013 6:30 PM CDT

Lawyer accused of bilking real estate investors through false claims of criminal probes takes plea

A New Jersey lawyer accused of participating in a scheme to defraud and extort money from four individuals by falsely claiming they were under criminal investigation has taken a plea. Thomas G. Frey has pleaded guilty in federal court in Trenton to extortion and wire-fraud conspiracy charges, the Sentinel reports.…

Jun 4, 2013 9:14 PM CDT

Attorney gets 30 months in mortgage case that brought down 2 lawyers and a paralegal

A Connecticut real estate lawyer and others with whom he schemed reportedly intended to sell upscale homes at a profit when they submitted fraudulent mortgage applications to get standard financing to pay off “hard money” purchase loans that carried high interest. But the real estate scheme in the state’s burgeoning…

Jun 3, 2013 11:05 PM CDT

Former SEC lawyer uses crowdfunding to bring whistleblower actions

Jun 1, 2013 9:10 AM CDT

$1M overbilling claim leads to criminal case against lawyer and office manager

A former office manager for a small Florida law firm who was federally indicted earlier this month, along with her ex-boss, in an alleged conspiracy to overbill a client by $1 million has taken a plea. Maria Hassun pleaded guilty to one theft count in federal court in Fort Lauderdale…

May 30, 2013 6:00 PM CDT

General counsel takes plea over golf outing credit-card charges

The general counsel of a Colorado transportation agency wound up in the rough over golf outings he was accused of charging on a company credit card around the time when he was scheduled for continuing legal education and professional meetings. Walter Mathews IV was fired by Roaring Fork Transportation Authority…

May 29, 2013 5:33 PM CDT

Former state supreme court justice gets one year in bank fraud case

A now-retired Michigan supreme court justice was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony bank fraud charge earlier this year. Prosecutors in the Ann Arbor case had sought a year to 18 months for Diane Marie Hathaway, 59, who reportedly…

May 28, 2013 7:40 PM CDT

Ex-judge charged with stealing drug evidence while on the bench

A former Pennsylvania court judge has been charged on multiple counts of theft and drug possession. The charges against retired Washington County Common Pleas judge Paul Pozonsky, who stepped down last year after he was stripped of all criminal cases by President Judge Debbie O’Dell-Seneca, follow a state police investigation…

May 23, 2013 7:54 PM CDT

Ex-DA takes stand at federal racketeering enterprise trial, cites prosecutorial discretion

A former Texas district attorney is expected to continue testifying Thursday in his federal trial over allegedly operating the DA’s office as a criminal racketeering enterprise. However, ex-Cameron County DA Armando R. Villalobos already laid out his defense in testimony Wednesday—prosecutorial discretion, the Valley Morning Star reports. Contradicting testimony by…

May 23, 2013 5:10 PM CDT