Saturday, January 07, 2017

Pennsylvania AG Pinches Attorney For Allegedly Improperly Pocketing Money Collected From Clients That Belonged To Law Firm Employer

From the Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General:
  • Attorney General Bruce R. Beemer [] announced the arrest of a suspended Clinton County lawyer charged with the theft of more than $50,000 from the law firm where he was previously worked as a civil attorney.

    John Philip Boileau, 50, was charged following a joint investigation by the Office of Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Lock Haven Police Department.

    According to a criminal complaint [], Boileau previously worked for the Lock Haven law firm that was known as Roberts, Miceli and Boileau, LLP. The investigation revealed that he intentionally kept $54,413 that was meant for the firm.

    Boileau allegedly had clients submit payments directly to him, which violated the firm's standard procedures for collecting money from clients. In many cases, Boileau also failed to perform the legal services for which he was paid, causing other members of his firm to complete the legal work, investigators determined.

    The investigation included a review of records for bank accounts used by Boileau and other documentation. The alleged theft occurred between May 2010 and June 2015.

    Boileau, [...], is charged with one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received. The charge is a third-degree felony punishable by a maximum of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.