Lawyer Marc Dreier to Be Sentenced Today

Lawyer Marc Dreier is scheduled to be sentenced today in Manhattan federal court for bilking investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars in a scheme involving fake promissory notes.

Dreier pleaded guilty to eight felony charges in connection with the scheme in May. He is seeking a sentence of no more than 12½ years in prison, while prosecutors are asking for the maximum, 145 years, the Associated Press reports. Prosecutors are also seeking $700 million in restitution.

In a letter to the court, Dreier said he started to steal as he went through a midlife crisis after his 2002 divorce. "At the beginning, I spent most of the money on growing the law firm. ... But as time went on, I was more and more self-indulgent,” the letter said. “Obviously, other men suffer through divorce and 'midlife crisis' and manage not to steal. And other people grow their business without resorting to crime."