Attorney Fees
Former Calif. Prosecutor Charged in Money-Laundering Case
Posted Jan 9, 2009, 06:37 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A former assistant Santa Clara County, Calif., prosecutor is facing six felony charges for allegedly helping a client launder money through attorney fees paid to her trust account.
In a federal indictment unsealed yesterday, Jamie Harmon, 52, who now has a criminal defense practice in San Jose, Calif., was charged with laundering nearly $90,000 for a client and his company, concerning a claimed computer theft ring, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
Attorney Theodore Stalcup, who represented Harmon at her initial court hearing, says the money at issue was a standard attorney fee paid to Harmon—and refunded by her, to the extent it had not been expended—by check.
"She had no idea where the money came from,'' Stalcup tells the newspaper. "We are not required to do some extensive investigation. If it is speckled with blood or comes in bags marked with 'Bank of America' then you could get concerned.''