Ex-Law Firm Employee Accused of Embezzling $1M, Setting Fire to Office

A former employee at a Baltimore-area law firm has been indicted on charges that he embezzled more than $1 million of escrow money and set fire to the firm’s offices in an attempt to cover it up.

The indictment alleges that George Michael Perez, who worked in the accounting department at Wittstadt & Wittstadt, made 14 wire transfers totaling $1.04 million into his own personal bank account, the Baltimore Sun reports. He is accused of taking the money from an escrow account holding money from the sale of foreclosed properties.

The April 2007 fire caused an estimated $800,000 in damage to the six-story building housing the firm. Perez was charged with wire fraud, arson and money laundering.