Maryland Family Loses Loved One; Inheritance Disappears

In June 2012, the Roberts hired an attorney to settle the $263,000 estate of his late father, William Roberts Sr.

"I just put my trust in him. He was a nice guy," William Roberts Jr. said.

The attorney, Charles Kountz seemed well respected. His office on Hollins Ferry Road in Baltimore County was convenient.

After Kountz paid the estate's debts, there was a balance of $235,000.

That huge chunk of money was to be split among William Roberts Jr. and four other heirs, but the Roberts said nearly two years later, they still didn't have their money. Kountz kept stalling and, in January, he died.

"Everyone got their money except when it came down to the people willed the money. There's nothing now," William Roberts Jr. said.

All the money is gone. That stunning news came in a letter from an attorney appointed by the court to close out Kountz's law practice. He said, "I am very sorry to have to advise you that there is no money in the estate to pay the amount to you or any other heirs." He suggested they get legal advice. First, they contacted him.

"I asked him where's it at. He said, 'I don't know.' I asked if it was stolen. He said, 'I presume yes, it is.' He said, 'If it's not there, it's stolen,'" William Roberts Jr. said.

So where did all that money go? Just one day after the estate account was opened, bank records indicate Kountz wrote a check to himself for $100,000, and he used it to settle someone else's estate.

Full Article and Source:
Family Loses Love One; Inheritance Disappears