Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Lawyer Pleads No Contest to Felony Grand Theft

A Pismo Beach lawyer pleaded no contest to felony grand theft by embezzlement and is scheduled for sentencing in May.

William Peter Terhune II, 57, entered the plea before San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbara, who set sentencing for 8:30 a.m. May 10 in Department 2.

San Luis Obispo police began investigating Terhune’s law practice in 2010 after receiving reports he misappropriated funds from estates his office was administering.

Terhune, who specialized in estate planning, wills, probate, conservatorships and public benefits planning, subsequently was arrested for allegedly embezzling $275,000 from a single client.

Terhune initially pleaded not guilty to the charges before changing his plea this week.

Full Article and Source:
Pismo Lawyer Pleads No Contest to Embezzlement

3 comments:

Thelma said...

If he is found to have taken money from one account, all his accounts must be audited for theft and overbilling, as well.

Karen said...

Right. If he did it once, he did it several times.

Anonymous said...

I agree audit all the accounts under his control. Where there is one, there are others who were robbed, betcha. It's so darned easy to steal, a no brainer to be a crook, even a stupid crook, in situations like this. Most times, no one comes knocking, no one looks or responds to complaints = easy street. Grateful they got this one with his pants down.