Feds say assets of ex-lawyer charged in $4.5M client theft are missing, ask judge to revoke bond
Released on bond as he awaits trial in a federal wire-fraud case related to his alleged theft of $4.5 million in client funds, former Indianapolis lawyer William F. Conour is now accused of having violated bond conditions by disposing of personal assets without court approval.
A new inventory ordered last month by the judge overseeing the Southern District of Indiana case against Conour failed to account for nearly one-third of the items listed in an inventory last year, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Prosecutors are now asking the judge to revoke Conour’s bond. Once considered one of the region’s top construction accident litigators, he gave up his law license last year. A bank is foreclosing on his 25-room home in Carmel, and his former horse farm was auctioned in January at a sheriff’s sale.
Missing items, which were supposed to be sold to establish a restitution pool for the alleged victims in the case, included large-screen television sets, a tractor and a horse trailer, artworks, collectibles and signed sports memorabilia, the newspaper says.
The inventory was ordered after Conour requested a $10,000 payout to cover his monthly living expenses totaling over $7,000, including $1,800 in car payments for his ex-wife, required under a court-ordered divorce settlement, and $1,700 for a payment in February on his own vehicle. During a hearing last month on Conour’s expenses request, a prosecutor raised questions about how he had funded a trip to Arizona, allegedly to attend baseball spring training events.
Although the judge found that no misconduct had been proven concerning the Arizona trip, he asked for an inventory update.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Faces Wire Fraud Case; Feds Say He Used Client Funds to Cover Law Firm and Personal Expenses”
ABAJournal.com: “Ex-lawyer accused of stealing $4.5M from clients is now represented by public defender”
