Lawyer gets 48 months for defrauding estate of $2.3M
A suburban Philadelphia lawyer who diverted more than $2.3 million from a $6 million estate into his law firm accounts was sentenced Thursday to 48 months in federal prison.
Randall Scott, 72, pleaded guilty earlier this year to mail fraud and tax charges. Between December 2005 and October 2011 he not only diverted $2,317,917.67 but failed to file a tax return and pay some $520,000 in estate tax in order to maintain enough money to pay beneficiaries and avoid detection of the fraud scheme, says a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
After the estate executor died in 2009, Scott had the successor executor sign a document renouncing the job so Scott could forge the deceased executor’s signature on release documents, the release says.
In addition to the prison time, he was also sentenced to pay $2,317,917.67 in restitution.
Hat tip: Law 360 (sub. req.) and Philly Voice.
