Seattle Lawyer Sentencing Today For Bilking Clients $1 Million

Barry Hammer, 62, of Everett, Washington, is scheduled to be sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle. Prosecutors are calling for a jail term, which could be as much as four years under sentencing guidelines. Hammer pleaded guilty to a one count of wire fraud last May to stealing client investment funds which he handled. In his plea agreement, Hammer acknowledged that he "knowingly misused and converted money belonging to his clients for his own benefit ... without the clients' knowledge or consent." The fraud, which dated back to October 2002, was exposed in 2004 by a former law partner who reported the theft to the Washington State Bar Association. Hammer surrendered his law license in lieu of being disbarred. He filed a $13 million bankruptcy proceeding when his investments failed.

Read the story here and here.

I guess today is lawyer fraud day...