Disbarred Wis. Lawyer in Prison for Fraud Pleads Guilty to Bank Robbery
Peter T. Elliott, a disbarred Wisconsin lawyer convicted of bank fraud for taking money from client trust accounts, pled guilty to one count of robbery in Waukesha County Circuit Court today.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Elliott admitted in court Monday to robbing a bank branch in June 2010, while awaiting sentencing for the federal fraud conviction related to the trust account incidents.
Elliott was arrested in July after police received word that there was a suspicious vehicle at a high school parking lot. Elliott, found in his car, looked like a man photographed during the bank robbery, officers found, and his vehicle matched the description of the robber’s car.
During questioning, Elliott reportedly told investigators that robbing a bank was “quite easy,” and that he used some of the $9,516 he took for living expenses, past-due bills and to get his daughter’s vehicle out of hock.
Elliott is currently serving a 10-year federal sentence. As part of his state court plea agreement, a Waukesha County assistant district attorney said, the state will recommend that Elliott serve five years in prison after his federal sentence ends.
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Attorney Confessed Bank Robbery In Order to Continue Pretend Practice, His Lawyer Says”
Updated 6:33 p.m. to note that Elliott has been disbarred.
