Ex-Greenberg Traurig Associate Pleads Guilty in $500K Fraud Against His Firm
Michael Shaw pleaded guilty today to stealing nearly $500,000 from Greenberg Traurig when he worked there as an associate.
“For almost six years, Shaw regularly performed work for clients, submitted fraudulent invoices to the firm’s accounting department, received checks, endorsed the checks over to himself, and deposited the funds into his personal checking account,” read the statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia printed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “During this period, he also continued to receive his regular law firm salary as well.”
Starting in 2003, Shaw used either the name of a real investigator or a fake identity to bill Greenberg Traurig about $500,000. The firm discovered this misconduct in June 2009 and fired Shaw, who then repaid the firm $524,947.
Shaw is scheduled to be sentenced in early January, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. While he faces up to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines, the plea agreement (PDF provided by The Am Law Daily) states that the government has agreed to sentence him at the low end of the guideline range
In March, Shaw, backed by State Bar of Georgia, filed a petition to the Georgia Supreme Court requesting six to 12 months of retroactive suspension. The justices rejected the proposed sanction as too light.
In June, the court rejected a proposed two- to four-year suspension for Shaw for the same reason. At that time, Paula Frederick, general counsel for the State Bar of Georgia, said that it would agree only to disbarment for Shaw.
Hat Tip: The Am Law Daily.
