Legal Ethics
Ex-Lawyer Accused of Collecting $132K from PD Service in Billing Scam
A disbarred lawyer has been charged with fraudulently collecting $132,000 from the West Virginia Public Defender Services by altering vouchers that had been signed by a judge.
William Duty, 59, of Williamson, W. Va., was accused of changing the name and other information on the signed vouchers, the Charleston Gazette reports. Prosecutors claim Duty submitted the vouchers to a company that advances money to lawyers before they are paid. He did do court-appointed defense work, but prosecutors say he collected $132,000 more than he was due.
He is charged with four counts of wire fraud, the story says.
Duty was disbarred in 2008 for misappropriating settlement money, according to the Gazette.
