Fla. Lawyer Now Admits 'I Did It,' Gets 5 Years for Role in $83M Real Estate Fraud
Testifying in a co-defendant’s criminal trial earlier this year after he himself accepted a plea bargain, a Florida attorney said he didn’t realize that he was doing anything wrong as he participated in real estate closings that were allegedly part of a $83 million loan fraud scheme.
As he was sentenced today to a five-year prison term in federal court in Tampa, however, John Yanchek admitted to the court that he’d made a huge mistake that has wrecked his life, reports the Tampa Tribune.
He’s going to lose his home, will undoubtedly be sued and will never practice law again, the 49-year-old Sarasota practitioner told U.S. District Judge James Whittemore. “Did I do it? Yes, I did,” he told the judge. Despite pleas for mercy by Yanchek’s wife and mother, who described him as a good man whose heart is in the right place, Whittmore wasn’t sympathetic to the attorney’s plight.
“Whatever the ramifications are with regard to your law license and your career, they are deserved, plain and simple,” Whittemore told him.
Yanchek, who pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy, money laundering and making false statements to a bank concerning a commercial loan, could have gotten more time if he hadn’t cooperated with the government. He must also forfeit $7.6 million in assets, pay an undetermined amount of restitution and serve five years of probation after his release from prison, the newspaper recounts.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Fla. Lawyer in $83M Real Estate Fraud: I Didn’t Think It Was Criminal”
ABAJournal.com: “Fla. Closing Attorney Pleads in $83M Loan Fraud Case, Could Get 10 Years or Less”
ABAJournal.com: “Defendant Lawyer in Fla. Case Can’t Judge New Zealand Cat Show”
