White-Collar Crime
Solo Lawyer & Office Manager Wife Accused of Stealing $2M From Guardianship Clients
A 71-year-old solo practitioner in Texas and his 70-year-old office manager and wife are facing a 26-count federal indictment for allegedly stealing more than $2 million from the accounts of disabled military veterans for whom he served as a guardian.
Joe Phillips, who practices in Houston, and his wife, Dorothy, are charged with conspiracy, tax fraud, misappropriation by a fiduciary and making materially false statements to a federal agency, reports KHOU.
They allegedly transferred money from veterans’ accounts for their own personal use over a six-year period beginning in 2003, reports the Houston Chronicle.
Phillips formerly worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Neither article includes any comment from the defendants.
