Lawyer accused of overbilling state is on the lam, but follows prosecutor on Twitter
A West Virginia lawyer accused of billing the state for work never performed didn’t show up for his arraignment last summer, but he is following an assistant prosecutor on Twitter.
The lawyer, William Lester, is accused of fraudulent schemes and computer fraud, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports.
Over a two-year period, Lester billed the state more than $600,000 for indigent defense work. A review by Dana Eddy, executive director of the public defender service, found that Lester billed the state for more than 24 hours a day on at least 17 days, WCHSTV.com previously reported.
Lester was among the first people to follow Assistant Kanawha County prosecutor Fred Giggenbach when he joined Twitter earlier this month, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. “My Man Fred!” Lester wrote to Giggenbach. “Welcome to Twitter. Send my Best to All!”
Kanawha County prosecutors hope to extradite Lester to face the charges. He is believed to be in Central America.
“Maybe we can tweet him a plea deal,” Giggenbach joked in an interview with the Gazette-Mail.
See also:
ABA Journal.com: “Lawyer accused of billing over 24 hours in a day suspended; but official said others were worse”
