White Collar Crime

Former Securities Lawyer Gets 23 Years in Scheme to Sell Millions in Fraudulent Investments

A former securities lawyer was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison by a federal judge in North Carolina for his role in what prosecutors said was a multimillion-dollar investment fraud. The government had sought a 90-year term for Gregory Bartko, the Associated Press reports. His lawyer had argued for…

Apr 5, 2012 10:26 PM CDT

Disbarred Mo. Lawyer Is Charged With Stealing $650K From Fund for Murdered Kids, 2 Other Clients

A former Missouri lawyer disbarred in 2009 was federally indicted Wednesday for allegedly stealing $650,000 from three clients. Among the alleged victims of Harley Kent Desselle, 61, are a memorial fund for two murdered children, a bankruptcy client and a woman who says she is the widow of a longtime…

Apr 5, 2012 3:24 PM CDT

Suspended NY Attorney Takes Plea in Law Firm Immigration Scheme, Must Forfeit $2.5M

A suspended New York attorney who fled to Canada in 2006 when he heard he and his law firm were being targeted in an immigration probe has taken a plea after being arrested and extradited to the United States last year. Earl Seth David pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and…

Apr 3, 2012 3:31 PM CDT

A View From the Inside: New Documentary Looks at Fraudster Marc Dreier

When New York City attorney Marc Dreier was arrested in 2008 on securities and wire fraud charges, much of the news of his crime spree was overshadowed by Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme. Now a new documentary film is shedding light on what drove Dreier to bilk a variety of…

Apr 1, 2012 10:00 AM CDT

Disbarred Ga. Real Estate Closing Attorney Faces Federal Charges re Alleged $1.5M Fraud

A Duluth, Ga., attorney disbarred in 2009 was arrested Friday morning on charges that he covered various personal expenses by misappropriating as much as $1.5 million from real estate closings, beginning in 2007. Neal Landers, 45, is expected to be arraigned Friday on charges including bank fraud, money laundering and…

Mar 30, 2012 4:20 PM CDT

Attorney Witness in Obstruction Case Testifies He Pretended Friend’s Law Firm Was His Own

Although he had worked for his friend, Aristotle R. Matsa, in the past, George Pappas now admits he didn’t even have a key to the Matsa law office until 2004. But, to protect Matsa from losing the law in a divorce from his second wife, Pappas told the feds he…

Mar 29, 2012 8:00 PM CDT

Former PI Lawyer Gets 2 Years for Taking $200K Out of Client Trust Account

After his wife discovered he is gay and told their children, Steven Helm said he had an hour to pack his things and go. As he struggled to deal with a fog of depression in the aftermath of losing his home, his marriage and his relationship with his children, he…

Mar 29, 2012 6:52 PM CDT

Ex-Chief of Staff for Blago Says Sorry, Gets 10-Day Jail Term; Former Ill. Gov Is Serving 14 Years

A former chief of staff to Rod Blagojevich who served as a star witness at the political corruption trial of the impeached former Illinois governor was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 days in federal prison after apologizing to a federal judge in Chicago. Blagojevich is serving a 14-year sentence. Attorney…

Mar 28, 2012 9:29 PM CDT

Brooke Astor Estate Fight Settles; Her Son Gets Reduced Share of $14.5M Due to Criminal Conviction

After a five-year legal battle that the presiding judge feared could continue on until it ate up most of the $200 million or so in heiress Brooke Astor’s estate, the warring beneficiaries have settled. The pact frees up $100 million for various charities, and slashes to a mere $14.5 million…

Mar 28, 2012 9:02 PM CDT

Retired Chief Judge Will Oversee Effort to Find Any Evidence of Perjury in Lawyer’s Client Files

A retired chief of the Wayne County Circuit Court was appointed a special master on Wednesday and put in charge of an effort to review client files of Detroit attorney David Dunn to determine whether they contain evidence relevant to a perjury conspiracy case he is facing, Judge William Giovan,…

Mar 28, 2012 6:57 PM CDT

2nd Lawyer Takes Plea in NJ Tax-Lien Bid-Rigging Case; Federal Probe Is Ongoing

A second lawyer has taken a plea in a federal case over alleged collusive bidding in sales of tax liens in New Jersey. Robert E. Rothman, 59, a lawyer and owner of Rothman Realty Corp. in Englewood, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Newark to bid-rigging at auctions between…

Mar 27, 2012 10:02 PM CDT

2 Lawyers Targeted in Nev. Homeowner Association Fraud Probe Are Found Dead Within a Week

Two Nevada lawyers who were targeted in a federal investigation of claimed widespread corruption among Las Vegas area homeowner associations have been found dead within a week of each other. The body of David Amesbury, 57, who pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and conspiracy to…

Mar 27, 2012 4:05 PM CDT

Issue for Judge in Lawyer Perjury Case: How to Search Lawyer Files Yet Not Violate Client Privilege?

As an investigation proceeds in an unusual perjury conspiracy case brought against a Michigan lawyer as he was about to try a client’s capital murder case, the presiding judge overseeing the attorney’s prosecution is faced with a difficult problem. How should investigators proceed, in reviewing criminal defense lawyer David Dunn’s…

Mar 26, 2012 8:02 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Is Also a Rabbi Takes Plea in Mortgage-Fraud Case, Will Give Up Practice for 1 Year

After beating the rap in an earlier trial, a Connecticut lawyer has taken a plea in a mortgage-fraud case. Rabbi David Avigdor, 58, pleaded guilty this week to making a false statement on to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development concerning a real estate closing, the New Haven…

Mar 22, 2012 9:05 PM CDT

Lawyer Accused of Smuggling Contraband Into Jail to Influence Witness Against His Own Son

A lawyer admitted in Georgia and South Carolina is facing the loss of law practice privileges in both states after pleading guilty to 11 misdemeanors in a case concerning contraband smuggled into the Richmond County Jail. Sidney “Chuck” Jones, 59, who practiced in Aiken, S.C., was accused by authorities of…

Mar 22, 2012 6:37 PM CDT