Criminal Justice

Lawyer gets prison time for defrauding clients of over $700K

prison cell

A West Virginia attorney who defrauded clients of more than $700,000 has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison, federal prosecutors said. (Image from Shutterstock)

A West Virginia attorney who defrauded clients of more than $700,000 has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison, federal prosecutors said.

Lawyer Paul Harris, 62, of Wheeling, West Virginia, was sentenced Monday to 97 months for defrauding clients and money laundering, according to a March 23 press release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of West Virginia.

Harris was accused of using clients’ money for personal expenditures, including buying a home and paying off a loan for his law office.

Prosecutors said the victims lost a total of $701,623.86, according to a story by WCHS.