But court records and Thomas' confidants point to one major mistake she might have made in her life — hiring Rodney M. Matheson, a now-disbarred Queen Creek probate attorney, to handle her estate.
About $1.2 million of Thomas' estate was supposed to go to a University of Arizona cancer research fund in memory of Dorothy and her late husband, David. But the money never was paid to the University of Arizona Foundation, according to court records.
Matheson, 69, was disbarred in September 2013 and arrested by Gilbert police in February. He is charged with two counts of fraudulent schemes and two counts of theft, with investigators accusing him of misappropriating as much as $6 million.
Prosecutors accused Matheson of orchestrating an elaborate shell game by taking money from two estates to satisfy a court order for payment of $800,000 to the Mayo Clinic, the major beneficiary of a third estate, according to court documents.
Lawyers are fighting in the courts for repayment of funds to the proper beneficiaries, if the money can be located. And Lee Stein, Matheson's new criminal attorney, has received more time to evaluate the complicated case and challenge his indictment.
Stein said it would be inappropriate to comment while a criminal case is pending.
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Disbarred attorney accused of stealing from probate clients
Why is the ABA playing ostrich?
ReplyDeletePredators are in every profession.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the most telling part of this story is that this thief's attorney got a continuance in order to better prepare his case.
ReplyDeleteLawyers ensure that exacting standards of due process apply to shield their own from the consequences of egregious wrongdoing, while systematically screwing over the general public in kangaroo court proceedings. All for an exorbitant fee, of course.
Shameful.