Family: Lawyer Stole Money Left by Dying Father for Kids

Derek Tate had expected money from a $500,000 life insurance policy would help with things like college and weddings for his children after he died of cancer in 2007.

Instead, much of the money was drained by a Macomb County attorney from the trust fund set up to financially help Tate’s sons, authorities said.

Buschmohle, 40, was charged in February, accused of writing checks to himself over a four-year period from the trust fund. The boys’ mother complained to the Attorney Grievance Commission, which contacted Warren police, after Buschmohle failed to return her calls as the boys reached the fund distribution age of 19, authorities have said.

Stephen Tate said he believes the money went to Buschmohle’s family and friends.

Buschmohle was expected to plead no contest [5/29/13] to embezzlement of $100,000 or more, a 20-year felony, in Macomb County Circuit Court, but the plea did not go off.

Assistant Prosecutor Sian Hengeveld said there was some misunderstanding with the terms and conditions of the sentence the judge was going to give. She said the sentencing agreement was for one year in the county jail and $315,000 in restitution, with 10% due at or before sentencing.

She said the prosecution and defense agreed on the $315,000 figure but there was a separate agreement between the judge and the defense on the jail time. Hengeveld said the Prosecutor’s Office is not offering anything, including a plea offer, and “we are not in agreement with the sentence.”

Buschmohle was disbarred effective May 22 and ordered to pay more than $462,000 in restitution, according to a notice Friday of disbarment and restitution posted on the state Attorney Discipline Board’s website. He had a notice of reprimand and restitution from the board in 2009.

The notices did not detail specifics of the complaints.

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Family:  Lawyer Stole Money Left by Dying Father for Kids

Former Mayor Gets Nearly 5 Years for Bilking Elderly Man Out of $600K

Peter DiRosa, former mayor of Manchester, Conn., was described in court Thursday afternoon as a one-time congressional hopeful who became obsessed with launching a Hungarian resort as a way to reclaim his past stature and who used the retirement savings of a Kennebunk man to pursue the ultimately failed scheme.

DiRosa, 66, still of Manchester, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge George Z. Singal to 57 months — four years and nine months — in prison on fraud charges and ordered to pay the now 81-year-old retiree back the $540,000 he convinced the victim to invest in the project.

DiRosa, who wore a dark suit to the afternoon hearing, was ordered to report for his sentence at 2 p.m. June 19 at a federal facility to be determined, but which Singal agreed should be “as close as possible to Manchester, Conn.”

During the sentencing hearing in the federal courthouse in Portland, several of DiRosa’s friends and colleagues spoke about his character, his background as a high school teacher and successful business owner, his active role in his church community and his time in public service.

But Singal chose a sentence closer to the 71-month prison term recommended by prosecutor Craig Wolff from the U.S. attorney’s office than the 30-day incarceration with 14 months of home detention sought by defense attorney William Maselli.

“It’s certainly a puzzle how people who knew Mr. DiRosa for so many years had one view of him, while the jury in this case, after hearing the evidence, had a very different view,” Singal said. “I think what happened here was Mr. DiRosa became obsessed. He felt like this project would make him more than what he was.”

The victim’s son told the judge during the hearing that the stress caused by DiRosa’s “trickery” forced both his mother and father to seek medical treatment.

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Former Conn. Mayor Gets Nearly 5 Years for Bilking Elderly Maine Man Out of $600,000

FL Financial Advisor Found Guilty of Attempted Financial Exploitation of the Elderly

Longtime Lake Forest resident and financial advisor James P. Richter was found guilty of Attempted Financial Exploitation of the Elderly on April 4 by the Lake County Circuit Court. According to public records, the Class A misdemeanor carries a sentence of 12 months conditional discharge including 100 hours of community service and a $500 contribution to a charity. He’s also required to avoid all contact with the two senior citizens at the center of the case.

They’re a married couple in their late-70s/early-80s who have lived in Lake Forest for 45 years and, they said, had been clients of Richter’s since 1993. They spoke with GazeboNews on the condition of anonymity to raise awareness of the issue of exploitation of the elderly. GazeboNews called and emailed Richter and his attorney several times but were unable to get a comment from them.

The story of People vs. James P. Richter began in February 2010, when, according to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen Scheller, Richter asked the couple for a $45,000 loan, which they gave him. Approximately one year later, he said, Richter asked for a second loan, this time in the amount of $15,000, which the couple also gave him. Scheller said that in both cases, Richter signed promissory notes.

In the fall of 2011, the couple contacted the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, which opened an investigation and eventually reached an agreement with Richter and his attorney, in which Richter pleaded to a misdemeanor if he paid the couple back in full, which he did, according to Scheller. He said that the amount of money involved would have warranted a felony charge if the money had not been repaid.

“Obviously, we want to charge the offender, but if we can get the victims’ money back, it doesn’t do us any good to throw the offender in jail for three years and not get a cent,” said Scheller. “This is a conviction on his record that won’t be expunged or go away. We’re happy we got the victims their money back, and we’re happy we got the conviction.”

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Lake Forest Financial Advisor Found Guilty of Attempted Financial Exploitation of the Elderly

Guardian Gets Prison in $92K Theft From 12 Nursing Home Residents

A former Omaha attorney was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for stealing $92,000 from 12 nursing home residents she was appointed to protect.

U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom sentenced Kim Erwin-Loncke, 47, to the prison term plus three years of supervised release.

Strom also ordered her to pay $92,608 in restitution. Douglas County judges had appointed Erwin-Loncke guardian of several disabled or otherwise incapacitated nursing home residents.

From August 2008 to November 2010, the then-attorney took advantage of those clients by transferring their Social Security payments to her own bank accounts, U.S. Attorney Deb Gilg said.
The Nebraska Supreme Court disbarred Erwin-Loncke in November 2010. Strom ordered Erwin-Loncke to report June 24 to begin serving her prison term.

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Guardian Gets Prison in $92K Theft From 12 Nursing Home Residents

Manhattan Lawyer Indicted for Stealing $213K From Victim Settlements

A thieving Manhattan lawyer used wacky excuses to stall off his victim clients — including that a moose had run into his car, prosecutors said today.

The “moose excuse” didn’t save Brian Reis, 52, from getting indicted for allegedly stealing $213,000 in settlements and retainer fees from four victims.

Reis — a father of four from Morristown, NJ — stole a $90,000 lawsuit settlement from one victim client, then kept him at bay for five years via a series of what DA Cyrus Vance called “preposterous excuses.”

In addition to invoking the imaginary moose, Reis told the client that his car had caught fire and exploded and that his father was in the hospital, according to court papers.

Reis, who was disbarred last month, spent some $640,000 on online gambling since 2007, according to court papers. Assistant district attorney Jose Fanjul told a judge today that prosecutors will seek an at least two-year prison sentence.

“Mr. Reis recognizes his obligations and is making efforts to provide restitution,” his lawyer, Michael Bachner, told reporters after his client pleaded not guilty to scheme to defraud and grand larceny.

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Manhattan Lawyer Indicted for Stealing $213K From Victim Settlements

TN: Conservator Pleads Guilty to Sexual Battery, Theft

With his two victims looking on, a 76-year-old former court appointed conservator pleaded guilty Monday to theft and sexual battery charges, crimes he committed against the very people he was charged with protecting.

Speaking so softly he could barely be heard, Walter Strong of Celina entered the guilty pleas under an agreement where charges of rape by an authority figure were dropped. From 2004 until 2011, Strong was the conservator of a handicapped couple. He admitted to sexual battery on the woman and theft of $105,479 from both of them.

He will face 270 days of jail time under the plea deal, time that could drop to 200 days for good behavior.
Although Strong was also ordered to make restitution to the couple, his attorney, Jack Lowery of Lebanon, told Circuit Judge Judge David A. Patterson it was unlikely his client would ever be able to pay back the full amount.

“He doesn’t have $105,000,” Lowery said.

When the judge asked him directly if he would agree to make restitution, Strong said, “I don’t know how.”

Patterson warned Strong that, if he failed to make an effort at restitution, the full 10-year sentence called for under state law could be imposed.

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Conservator Pleads Guilty to Sexual Battery, Theft

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TN Conservator Charged With Raping Woman, Stealing From Couple

CA: Ex Lawyer Ricardo A. Torres Pays Resitution, Placed on Probation

Disbarred Los Angeles attorney Ricardo A. Torres II has been placed on probation for stealing from clients, a district attorney spokesperson said yesterday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli sentenced Torres Friday to five years’ probation, the conditions of which include 300 hours of community service. Torres pled guilty to one count of embezzlement, in violation of Penal Code Sec. 506, in September.

State Bar spokesperson told the MetNews that Torres last month paid over $97,000 in restitution to the State Bar for funds paid out by the Client Security Fund to Lawrence and Rachel Prijoles, plus interest. Torres, whose proffered resignation from the State Bar was rejected by the Supreme Court, agreed in 2011 to be disbarred and to pay restitution to the Prijoleses or the fund.

According to the disbarment stipulation, the Prijoleses were involved in a head-on collision with a drunk driver in San Diego County in 2005, winning a verdict for more than $500,000 in compensatory damages. The driver then agreed to pay $125,000 to settle the punitive damages part of the claim.

Torres received checks totaling nearly $650,000 from the driver and the driver’s. Of that, nearly $560,000 was disbursed to Torres, his co-counsel, expert witnesses, and the clients.

None of the medical providers were paid, and Torres admitted misappropriating the remaining $89,000 in settlement funds.

The Client Security Fund has also paid $27,100 on four other applications filed against Torres, the State Bar spokesperson said’

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Ex-Lawyer Torres Pays Restitution, Placed on Probation

MO: Columbia Woman Charged With Financial Exploitation is Sentenced to Prison

A Columbia woman who pleaded guilty in October to financially exploiting a person with a disability will serve four months in prison and will then be placed on probation so she can begin to pay back the woman she bilked out of tens 0f thousands of dollars.

Deanna Harris received a sentence of eight years in prison but will spend 120 days in prison, after which Circuit Judge Christine Carpenter will review the case to see if probation is warranted. When Harris is released, she will be required to pay at least $400 a month in restitution to Luana Harrison, the victim of the crime. If she fails to make the payment, she will be sent back to prison.

“I think it would be very beneficial to Ms. Harrison to receive some of her money, but I just don’t trust you,” Carpenter said in Boone County Circuit Court on Monday in explaining her decision to send Harris to prison for some time.

Harris borrowed thousands of dollars from Harrison between April and September of 2010 under false pretenses and didn’t pay her back.

Harrison testified last month that she would like to see Harris given the maximum possible sentence.

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Columbia Woman Charged With Financial Exploitation is Sentenced to Prison

CA: Santa Monica Attorney Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

A Santa Monica attorney was sentenced Monday to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in restitution for schemes to evade taxes and misappropriate client fees, according to the IRS, which investigated the case.

Robert M.L. Baker III, who owns a law firm on 20th Street and Wilshire Boulevard, also was sentenced to three years of supervised release following imprisonment.

Baker, 46, pleaded guilty in January to “willfully subscribing and filing false tax returns in a conspiracy to commit tax fraud,” said IRS Special Agent Felicia McCain.

According to the plea agreement, Baker admitted that he “along with others devised a scheme to misappropriate client fees and settlements in order to evade payment of his tax obligations,” McCain said.

Judge Otis D. Wright ordered Baker to pay $1,140,879 in restitution to the IRS and $916,000 in restitution to a victim.

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Santa Monica Attorney Sentenced to Three Years in Prison