Law
fromBoston.com
3 days agoMelrose man charged with stealing hundreds of thousands from clients, prosecutors say
A Melrose lawyer faces multiple charges for embezzling client funds and practicing law while suspended.
Authorities in Congo-Brazzaville have applied to Interpol for an international arrest warrant against Jean-Guy Blaise Mayolas after he was convicted of embezzling $1.1 million in FIFA funds. Mayolas, along with his wife and son, was sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in the embezzlement scheme, which involved funds intended for Covid-19 relief.
Italian authorities have seized €20 million in assets in Tuscany, including property, vineyards, and olive groves, allegedly bought with money embezzled from actress Ursula Andress.
According to police, the case centers on how money connected to a client's property holdings was handled. Detectives say their review found signs that funds tied to the portfolio were improperly moved into the company's operating account.
Prosecutor Joel Madero said the allegations against Shaleta are connected to monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church's social hall that allegedly were missing. He said there were discrepancies in church accounts and that Shaleta provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going.
According to the document, Murrell is accused of embezzling the funds between August 2010 and January 2023. He is accused of illicitly purchasing items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome. Details of the indictment were first published in the Scottish Sun. Murrell is due to appear at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday 20 February for a preliminary hearing in the case.
The former rear commodore of the Ballena Bay Yacht Club is facing criminal charges for allegedly using false information to acquire a $224,276.43 federal grant and then spending a significant amount on himself, court records show. Nicholas Stellato, 53, is facing charges of grand theft, making a false statement on a financial form and money laundering, according to court records.
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An elder law attorney from Florida has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing nearly $2 million from his clients' accounts. Polk County, Florida, Judge Cassandra Denmark also sentenced Jason Penrod, the founder of the now-closed Family Elder Law in Florida to 15 years of probation following his prison sentence, according to USA Today. Penrod pleaded guilty to two counts of grand theft and 19 counts of money laundering on Dec. 12, USA Today also reports.
The money was spent on South American male escorts and on drugs including crystal meth, GHB and cocaine A video on McKiernan's phone showed him smoking a crack pipe while lying in bed with an individual The Fine Gael councillor made history in 2011 when he was elected the youngest ever chairman of Cavan County Council A former cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council has been jailed for two years and nine months, after stealing more than €172,000 from a mental health housing charity.
Singa Bui's licence to practise law was revoked following a three-hour-long hearing in which the Law Society of Ontario presented more than 2,000 pages of evidence, which she did not contest, that Bui repeatedly dipped into her firm's trust account to steal millions of dollars of client money and even forged bank records in a way that hid the theft.
According to a release from the PCSO, Garula-Mers was hired by the association in 2020 on a starting salary of roughly $80,000. After four months on the job, in November 2020, Garuda-Mers allegedly increased her own salary to roughly $85,000 and issued several bonus checks to herself. The Sheriff's office states that within three years, Garula-Mers had increased her salary to $99,472 after numerous increases carried out without authorization.
Antonietta Nguyen has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for her role in orchestrating multiple fraud schemes against ABS Seafood, Inc., a major seafood wholesaler in San Francisco where she had previously served as chief financial officer. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston sentenced Nguyen on Nov.14. She was convicted in June of 12 felony counts, following her arrest in June 2023.
Barely a week after confessing she had embezzled money from Lake Tahoe Community Presbyterian Church, South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace has resigned, and encouraged her Mayor pro tem to also resign over his bar fight allegations. So Mayor Wallace is out, and South Lake Tahoe City Council will have to discuss picking a new mayor and other issues at their October 21 meeting. [KOVR]
She wrote she attempted suicide on her birthday, Sept. 11, and subsequently spent 18 days in a mental health facility. She said she sent the letter after being "filled with guilt, shame, and grief." "I had not been found out; in effect, I turned myself in," Wallace said in the Oct. 5 letter, adding that while she was in the hospital, she'd given the church a list of account numbers and passwords so her "actions could be more easily discovered."
The Chronicle reports that South Lake Tahoe Mayor Pro Tem Cody Bass was arrested for assault, trespassing, and harassment at a local bar from which he had previously been 86'ed. The incident apparently happened at 1 am back on September 25, though we are just learning of it now, as the Douglas County Sheriff and District Attorney offices just released a joint statement acknowledging the arrest.
This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I am publicly admitting that I took funds from the Presbyterian Church over an extended period. Because of this, on September 11, 2025, my birthday, I tried to end my life, Wallace says in both of the letters. Since then, for my safety, I have spent 18 days in a mental health facility and am now taking medicine as well as being in intense, all-day, every-day group and individual counseling sessions.
One Sunday, when he was bringing me back home, my mom (unprovoked) stabbed my father in the chest. As he lay dying in the hallway, someone called an ambulance. After being in a coma for a week, he miraculously woke up. The hospital was telling my grandma to prepare themselves for his death. When the police came and questioned my dad, he lied and said he had no idea who did it.
At twenty-three, I launched my first real business with another partner-an upscale pet resort. We had climate-controlled suites, a beautiful play yard, and classical music playing softly in the background. An elaborate four-tier fountain greeted guests in the lobby, where you could also view the handcrafted "Catio" patio built by my father himself. Within a few months, it was already turning a profit. On the surface, it seemed like a dream come true. But something felt off.