Lawyer convicted for stealing over $26M gives up law license; money was spent on gambling, jets, 'social companions'
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A former managing partner convicted in 2018 for stealing more than $26 million from his law firm and closing business has given up his Georgia law license.
The Georgia Supreme Court accepted the resignation of suspended lawyer Nathan E. Hardwick IV of Atlanta in a March 7 order noted by the Legal Profession Blog.
Hardwick was the managing partner of real estate closing firm Morris Hardwick Schneider and CEO of LandCastle Title. Both were subsidiaries of MHSLAW Inc., which employed 800 people in 16 states.
Prosecutors said Hardwick spent the stolen money on “gambling, private jets and more than 50 different social companions,” according to a February 2019 press release announcing Hardwick’s 15-year sentence.
He was convicted in October 2018 for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements.
Hardwick had pocketed $11.8 million after he and his law partners sold part of their business in early 2007. But Hardwick was broke and in debt by the end of 2010, leading to his siphoning of more than $26 million from MHSLAW accounts, including more than $19 million in attorney trust accounts, prosecutors said.
Hardwick’s convictions were affirmed last year.
Bloomberg Law had coverage of the license surrender.
